


Remember Us

by ohnoshefell



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alive Starks (ASoIaF), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amnesia, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Gendrya - Freeform, Happy Starks (ASoIaF)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24413116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohnoshefell/pseuds/ohnoshefell
Summary: "How did we meet?" Arya stared up into his blue eyes, her grey ones swirling with wonder and what he's starting to suspect as love-no it's too soon for that, she hasn't remembered him yet."There were fireworks in the sky." he spoke softly. 'remember me' he thought to himself.-orArya temporarily loses her memory after getting in a car accident and doesn't seem to remember who she is or her family, which happens to include her fiance, Gendry Waters.re-upload (previously deleted)
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 26
Kudos: 55





	1. The waiting room

**Author's Note:**

> reuploading this fic for a few special people. hope you enjoy and this time I won’t delete it.

No one really knew what to do. 

It was a common occurrence for bad things to happen to the Stark's, but they were always the mundane "Sansa's car broke down on the side of the highway","Jon lost his wallet again","Theon shaved Robb's head in his sleep for the third time" kind of bad. 

Not the actually life changing "holy crap, shit's going down" bad.

It's certainly not like they were immune to the idea of something truly terrible happening, but they always felt that having each other and being a family seemed to shun away any real bad thing that could happen to them. Except that wasn't enough this time.

To say they were all rattled was an understatement. To say they were angry and worse for wear was an absolute understatement. And to say they were praying to every single god they knew that Arya would wake was just putting it lightly. 

They had all been there for the past 2 weeks. The doctors had even considered setting them up with their own room with how many of them there were. Of course there would be so many. Ned, Cat, Robb and on occasion with him, Talisa and their two kids. Jon and Ygritte, Sansa and Theon, Bran and Meera to keep his nerves at bay, Rickon, and lastly and certainly the most grief stricken and upset, Gendry. 14 people, 14 completely in the dark and waiting for their beloved little rascal to wake up.

After the first week of Arya not waking up, Ned and Cat sent a few of them off,"Arya wouldn't want you all to drop everything in the midst of all this," Cat said, Ned agreeing albeit a bit reluctantly.

"She's right, the best thing any of us can do for Arya right now is live and wait."

Talisa took the kids back to their house, a bit sad all the while understanding Robb's decision to stay a bit longer.

Jon and Ygritte stayed, Jon absolutely refusing to leave his baby sisters side when at any moment he feels she's going to wake up. 

Sansa and Theon stayed, with Theon occasionally going back to his and Sansa's apartment, if only to appease Mr. and Mrs. Stark's request.

Bran stayed, because how could he not he thought to himself. 

Arya stayed when he was in the hospital and was temporarily paralyzed. She had stayed and he loved her more than she could ever know for it. He told Meera to go home and rest, and that he'd see her in the morning, he promised.

Rickon stayed, but on occasion was sent home to get ready for school and the like. He'd been very reluctant but always rushed back to the hospital every chance he got.

Gendry stayed. Of course Gendry stayed. It was Arya, and he'd never leave her side if given the option. "If Arya is here, then I'm here" was always his answer, anytime any of them tried to get him to go home and get a proper rest.

"You stupid bull" Jon said, walking up to where Gendry was seated."That's what she would say to you if she wakes up and sees you've been waiting here for her to wake up." Jon's face fell at the prospect of her potentially not waking up.

Gendry glared at Jon. "When she wakes up. Not _if_ ." Gendry said angrily. "Why would you say that? Why would you say if?" Gendry had tears in his eyes now.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to I promise mate." Jon sat next to him and embraced Gendry in a side embrace. 

Gendry stilled for a moment, having not made any physical contact with anyone before Arya got in that accident.

Then, all at once, his body sagged and he leaned his head on Jon's shoulder and let his tears fall. 

"It's okay, she'll wake up soon. It's been two weeks. She'll wake up soon I know she will." Jon comforted his would be brother in law and best mate with tears of his own falling.

After what felt like a century of Gendry losing his mind at the prospect of Arya's eyes staying shut, he sobered up a bit and sat up. 

Catelyn walked over to the pair of Arya's favorite men, and smiled glumly at them. 

She hands them both tissues "I wish I had my camera. Arya would be hysterical at the sight of you two before kissing both your heads.."

Jon and Gendry looked at each other and let Catelyn's attempt at making them feel better wash over them. 

They both cracked small smiles and let out watery laughs.

"Yeah she would, wouldn't she?" Gendry looked up at Cat. She nodded and rested her hand on Gendry's shoulder. 

"I love you both. It's no secret it took a while and some warming up, but for the simple facts that I know you each and Arya is absolutely crazy about the two of you it was easier," She paused and softened her gaze towards them both, " And I love you each even more for staying by her side through all this, but you both, and I say this with all my love boys-Jon don't look at me like that young man- you both have to go home and shower and properly rest. Come back in the morning." Cat looked at them both sternly, with that motherly stance of hers. 

"Mrs. Stark-"

"It's Cat Gendry, you know that." 

"Cat," he started hesitantly " I can't leave. I just- I can't. I- what if she wakes up while I'm gone?"

It was as if the Gods heard him. Cat opened her mouth to retort when Arya's (and all the Stark children's) doctor, Dr. Luwin, came through the doors.

"She's awake."

It was like being doused in cold water, that's what it felt like for all of them. 

All at once, they all stood up and rushed forwards to go see her before Dr.Luwin put his hands up in front of him, forcing them all to stop in their tracks.

"Can we go see her?" asked Sansa from where she was standing in between Theon and Robb.

"Arya just woke up, maybe not all of you at once, if you all go in there it might overwhelm her."he answered, something hidden in his voice.

"Why would it overwhelm her? We're her family, she would want us in there." Rickon spoke, annoyed.

Dr.Luwin gave him a stern look "Now now Rickon, don't take that tone with me, I just about delivered every last one of you Stark babies."

"Why would we overwhelm her?" Gendry asked again for Rickon's, and his own sake, his expression unreadable. 

This time Dr.Luwin turned his look towards Gendry, who held his hands up defensively "What? You didn't deliver _ me _ ." Gendry said.

Doctor Luwin sighed, trying to find the best way to tell them what he was about to tell them. He decided there wasn't one.

He took a deep breath before looking at them all as a whole.

"Arya came out of that accident in remarkably good condition on the outside. She got some cuts and scrapes, a few bruises, two bruised ribs and a swollen ankle. The accident concussed her, it's whats kept her from waking up for so long. Another downside of her concussion is that she seems to have temporarily-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Gendry said in a dangerously low voice.

Doctor Luwin looked at him with sympathy in his eyes. "It seems she has temporarily lost her memory. She doesn't quite remember who she is. She might not remember any of you." 

It was worse, far worse. 

They anticipated Arya waking up, angry to be in a hospital bed, Arya waking up and asking for every last one of them to visit her. Not this.

Cat and Ned were breathing in shaky breaths, Sansa had tears streaming down her face while Theon rubbed her back comfortingly, Bran and Rickon were hugging each other while Jon and Robb looked completely sullen and broken down. And Gendry, oh Gendry. Gendry looked just about ready to kill someone, to bring back that reckless drunk driver that did this to his Arya just so he could kill him all over again. 

"It's only temporary." Doctor Luwin added, hoping to ease the tension that slipped its way into the waiting room.

"Do you have an estimate for when she'll remember us?" asked Ned, absolutely heartbroken at the thought of his baby girl not recognizing who he is.

"Not entirely, it could be from the minute she sees you, to days to weeks or months, her memory of any and all of you could be triggered by something none of you will know. It's all about building your trust with her again. Which is why I kindly advise only a few visit her at a time and then ask if she wants to see you all at once." Doctor Luwin finished, his tone nothing but sympathetic and warm to his life long patients.

"Did she recognize you?" Robb asked, and a sad look took over Doctor Luwin's face."I'm afraid not. But Arya and anyone of you I'd recognize anywhere. I'll go and let her know she's about to receive a few visitors." He offered one last sympathetic smile before going back to Arya's room.

"Who's going first?" asked Rickon.

They all looked at one another and then they all looked at Gendry.

"No, not yet. I'm not ready yet. It'll break me to look her in the eyes and she won't even recognize me. I can't-"

"We'll go, son." Ned offered Gendry a hug and then he and Catelyn walked through the doors, their arms linked together, completely unprepared to not be recognized by their baby, by no longer theirs, Arya Stark.


	2. Names and faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really just trying to put these out there as fast as possible so i can finish writing all the other half finished works lmao. Enjoy!!

Her eyes felt heavy and her body sore. 

It was like a fever dream really. Being in complete and total pitch black nothingness where time goes by as fast as it does slow, and all she sees are those names and faces. 

They're all blurry, and yet the only face she can see clearly is her own, if not for the reflection of the window to the right of her. 

She hadn't even found her voice yet before the doctor came rushing in, absolutely overjoyed at the fact that she was finally awake. But who was she?

His face seemed to fall as recognition dawned on his features that she doesn't know who he is. And why would she? She doesn't even know who she is. She's no one as far as she knows. 

_ What's my name?  _

"I'm glad to see your awake, Arya."

_ Arya.  _ It sounded completely foreign to her, completely new. 

"That's my name?" she croaked out, her voice a bit hoarse from being out of use for nearly three weeks.

"Yes, dear. Do you remember me?" the small doctor asked her.

She shook her head from side to side."M'fraid not."

"Do you remember who you are?"

Another shake of the head and this time she felt hot shame burn through her. What type of person forgets who they are? Her eyes started stinging. "Will I ever remember?" she asked quietly.

"Your head was beat up pretty badly in the accident, but memory loss is a common occurrence among patients with concussions. It is only temporary, but there is no exact estimate as to when you'll actually remember anything." the doctor finished answering. "I'm your Doctor, Doctor Luwin."

"I saw faces, and names, while I was resting. Does that mean anything?"

Doctor Luwin's face seemed to perk up at this. There's hope after all.

"It means all the memories are still there, something's just blocking them, blocking you **.** "

"How can I remember?" She asked, hoping beyond hope there was a way.

"Well it's all like muscle memory, doing the things you used to do, going to the places you used to go, any place or person or thing that holds any type of significance to you are a great deal of help in these cases. The body helps the mind remember what it can't and the people around you. Your body will help you and the people around you will too."

She looked at him and smiled weakly. 

"You have visitors, if you'd like for me to send them in?" he offered.

"I do? Who?" If she felt bad about not remembering herself, she feels even worse for not remembering whoever's out there here to see her.

"Your family."

"oh." 

Should she take visitors? She's barely been awake for ten minutes and already people want to see her.  _ It's your family, you idiot. You might not remember them but they certainly remember you.  _

"Yeah you can send them in."

"All of them?" he questioned warily

Well how many could there be if it was just her family? Certainly no more than 4 or 5 people. 

"Well yeah if they're my family, I mean, wouldn't they all want to see me?"

"I'll go let them know," Doctor Luwin said before leaving the room and  _ -What's my name again _ \- Arya to her thoughts.

_ How did this happen? What type of accident separates a person from their memories? _

She felt sick,  _ good thing I'm already at the hospital,  _ she thought bitterly, and then she remembered there were people here to see her.

Her nerves were starting to build up.  _ What if I don't recognize them immediately? What if-  _ before she had the chance to finish that thought the door opened.

\----

Ned and Cat walked in, but Arya wouldn't know that. 

All she saw was a man with brown hair and grey eyes and a woman with auburn hair and blue eyes, and what looked like worry etched all over both their faces. 

They looked older, and based on the reflection she'd seen of herself earlier, she'd guess these were her parents no doubt. They reminded her of the blurry faces in her sleep. 

It's too bad nothing's coming to mind.

"Hey my sweet girl." The man spoke to her softly.

"You're my father?" She asked, and she'd never seen a man break so fast, so easy. He quickly recovered, cleared his throat and wiped away traitor tears that had started falling down his cheeks.

"Yes I am. This is your mother. You don't remember us, do you?" 

It was Arya's turn to break. 

She looked down at her hands in her lap, guilt flooding her systems,"I'm sorry." 

The woman looked at her, a pained expression painting her delicate features.

"You don't need to apologize Arya, it's not like you're choosing not to remember us. We know deep down you do, we just have to dig really deep." The woman _ -mum you fool, that's your mother _ \- said to her, her voice cracking a bit at the end.

Arya looked up and smiled at her gently "I think I can do that,"

The man- _ dad _ \- let out a small sigh of relief at that. "We know you can."

"I know I don't remember you, and this surely feels odd for you two, believe me it does for me. And I know that for now I don't know you, but can I still call you mum and dad? Maybe it'll help?" Or at least she hopes it will.

"Of course you can Arya, we are your parents after all, you silly girl." Her mother said to her with nothing short of what she suspected was affection.

"What are your real names?" She asked before she had the chance to stop herself.

"I'm Eddard Stark, everybody calls me-"

"Ned" She cut him off, surprising even herself. 

"Yes" He said warily but excited all the same "Yes, Ned, how did you remember that?"

"Before I woke up, all I heard and saw were a bunch of different names and fuzzy faces floating around being whispered and shouted while I was completely in the dark. I don't know who they all belong to." She answered glumly.

"It'll come to you in time, my dear."  _ Ned-dad _ said to her.

"What's your name?" she asked her mother.

"Cat Stark. Short for-"

"Don't tell me. I heard this one too. Catelyn?" Arya asked, desiring for her hazy names and fuzzy faces to lead her somewhere. 

Cat smiled at her warmly, glad to see that underneath all the amnesia, Arya's stubbornness remained, "Yes my child, short for Catelyn."

Maybe there was a light at the end of the tunnel after all.

"Should we get the others?" Cat turned to Ned.

Or maybe not.

"Others?"

"Your siblings, Arya." Her mother  _ Catelyn  _ said to her.

"I have siblings?"  _ Why am I asking so many stupid questions? _

"Yes dear" Ned started and then hesitantly spoke again "do you want to see them? They'll completely understand if you're not up to par, you did just wake up after all."

"No it's fine. You can send them in. Maybe I'll recognize somebody." She really really wanted to recognize somebody. She felt lonely and sad. She felt lost. They all know and miss her, and she doesn't even know who she is.

"Are you sure, Arya?" Her mother asked her. "I don't want you to deal with too much too fast."

"Yes I'm sure." As if on cue, Doctor Luwin walked in.

"How's it going in here, Mr. and Mrs. Stark?"

Before either of them had the chance to answer, Arya was speaking again.

"Stark? So that's my last name then?"

Ned and Cat looked at one another unsure of what to say, as if they knew something she didn't.  _ They do know something I don't stupid, they know  _ _me._

"Yes Arya, that's your last name." Doctor Luwin answered, but she was still too busy eyeing Ned and Cat's uncertainty.

"Are you sure, because they don't seem so sure."

"Yes dear, it's on your medical records." Doctor Luwin answered once more. 

"If you say so."  _ You moron, they know better than you do. Of course that's your last name. _

"Doctor Luwin, Arya's ready to see her siblings." Ned spoke, eager to shift the conversation from the topic of what Arya's last name is, or was going to be rather.

Doctor Luwin looked at Arya who only nodded in response. 

"All right then, I'll go get them."

"I like him, he seems nice."

Cat and Ned laughed lightly at that,"We hope so, he helped me give birth to you and your siblings." Cat smiled. Arya felt herself smile back.

It felt easy and natural for her to be this way with them, so why wasn't any of it clicking.  _ I better recognize somebody soon. _

\----

Robb, Jon, Sansa, Theon, Bran, Gendry and Rickon all sat in the waiting room while Ned and Cat were with Arya. It drove them absolutely mad to know she was awake and they weren't in there to witness it. But they all agreed it was best they take it slow. They were also a bit relieved, none of them too eager to not be remembered by their favorite wild spirit.

Gendry doesn't think he's ever felt so forlorn before.

"Do you think she remembers mum and dad?" Rickon asked from his spot in between Jon and Bran.

"Maybe? I'm not sure. She doesn't remember anything, you heard Luwin, little dude." Bran answered.

"Do you think she'll remember us?" Sansa whispered.

"Not immediately, but it'll help her to see all of you." Doctor Luwin said from the end of the hall. All their heads shot up to look at him.

"She wants to see us?" Robb asked.

Doctor Luwin nodded and smiled sadly,"She wants to remember you."

In that moment, 7 hearts broke all at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 3 will be posted shortly.


	3. It's just an edge

One by one, they all stood up, save for Gendry.

"You coming Gendry?" Asked Sansa, after she finished stretching.

"Not yet. I- I need time, I just. I can't, she won't remember me, she won't remember us. I mean how can she not remember? I just, I'm not ready yet. I'm sorry."

Sansa looked down at him and smiled weakly,"nothing to be sorry about.".

She bent down and hugged him, gave his shoulder an encouraging squeeze before joining her siblings and Theon as they all began to walk towards the room Arya was in.

"Let me know how it goes." He says, a bit too loudly for a hospital waiting room, but to be fair, there were only two other people there.

"You got it man" Theon said to him, before he and the rest of the Starks disappeared behind the doors, leaving Gendry to his thoughts, a dangerous thing.

Gendry had an edge to him. He doesn't know exactly when he got this edge but he knows when he lost it.

It seemed to disappear the moment Arya stepped into his life, slowly and then all at once, something that didn't go unnoticed by the few people Gendry held close. He didn't know how Arya broke down his exterior so fast or at all, but anytime Arya was near, he melted like putty.

For as long as anybody who had already known him, Gendry kept his guard up, afraid to let people in that he thought would leave him. 

So he always wore his frown that scared anybody who ever tried to approach him all his life. It became second nature and he liked it. He was just living his normal day to day life, and people always did their best not to get in his way.

Why would anybody want to get in the way of the tall, broad and strong boy with a frown tugging down his features?

He knew why people thought he was unapproachable and while he might not have been proud at pushing anybody that might care away, he was grateful it stopped people from trying to mess with him.

Until Arya.

Arya had been the only person unafraid and unaffected by Gendry's surliness. That much had been clear when he met her.

Gendry could recount to anyone all about the day he met Arya in completely vivid memory. He was a junior in high school and she was a freshman. It was the annual Autumn Winterfell Prep Fair. He hadn't even meant to bump into her, she was just so tiny and he had at least half a foot on everybody in his grade, and it was also really dark out at the fair, so it just sort of happened.

_ "Hey! Ow! Watch where you're going, you stupid giant bull!" He heard someone say loudly, above the sound of the fireworks the faculty just started shooting. _

_ Gendry looked down in shock of all the words that he heard and at the small figure of the freshman girl he just rammed into the ground. He looked at her, not really trusting his eyes or ears to believe that somebody in all his 3 years of attending Winterfell Prep had said more than 5 words to him willingly. _

_ She stood up, picking up 3 out of 5 of her disposable cameras, the remaining two in Gendry's hands. She flattened out her skirt and sweater before glaring up at Gendry. _

_ He fixed is trademark scowl into place, hoping to scare some sense into this fun sized human and trained his gaze so that their eyes were locked. _

_ "It's not entirely my fault. For starters, you have to be the shortest person I've ever met," this earned him a scowl from the small (and angry he has taken note of) girl, "And secondly, how about you try being more aware of your surroundings." _

_ Arya sized up this giant beast of a boy, hardly believing what she was hearing "Oh so I just chose to be this short? How about YOU pay attention to your surroundings, nobody else in Winterfell Prep, or at this fair for that matter, is as tall as you are." _

_ Gendry parroted her words back at her "Oh so I just chose to be this tall?" He smirked, certain that would get her to leave him alone once and for all. _

_ She narrowed her eyes further, but before she had the chance to retort, Robb Stark, fellow classmate of Gendry, ran up to them. Oh great, Robb Stark here to the teeny tiny freshman's rescue. _

_ "Arya, what's going on?" _

_ "Nothing Robb, I just bumped into this edgy giant." _

_ Edgy giant? That was certainly new. _

_ "Are you okay?" _

_ Gendry observed curiously what was happening in front of his eyes. Was he in another world? He had to be, he's never stood this close to Robb Stark and it was very unsettling to Gendry. _

_ The girl, Arya, Gendry noticed, rolled her eyes before nodding her head and looking between him and Robb. How does someone this tiny know Robb Stark? _

_ "Yeah I'm fine, everything's okay, you can head to the Ferris Wheel now, I'll see you later."  _

_ Robb looked between Gendry and Arya and internally decided that although heading to the Ferris wheel was not what he wanted to do, it was probably the best thing to do. He squeezed Arya's shoulder and then left. _

_ "Edgy giant? What type of-" _

_ "What, haven't you seen yourself sulking around school all the time? You're edgy." _

_ "I don't sulk around." Gendry said defensively. _

_ “Whatever you say, your edgy highness." _

_ He narrowed his eyes,"I'm not edgy." _

_ "Yes. you are and it's not like it's anything bad, it's just an edge." Arya said to him. Nobody ever bothered to pay attention to Gendry before, nobody ever noticed his edge, at least not until now.  _

_ "Oh."  _

_ "Yeah." _

_ Arya stared at Gendry expectantly, and after a moment, he just blinked.  _

_ "What?" _

_ Arya rolled her eyes, a habit Gendry noticed she makes a lot of use of. She directed her gaze to his hands that still held two of her disposable cameras before glancing back up at his face, hoping he got her silent message. _

_ Gendry's eyes widened in realization "Oh! right, sorry-" _

_ "For knocking me over or holding my cameras hostage?" _

_ At that, Gendry's face split into a wide grin. "Both, I guess."  _

_ Arya, surprised by his sudden smile, gave a shy one of her own before looking down. _

_ "Here." He handed her her cameras back. She looked up again, "Thank you." _

_ "Disposable cameras?" He asked her. _

_ She hesitated before answering him, "I like to develop film. And tonight's a great night to take pictures." She said, motioning to the fireworks in the sky. She smiled up at them, and Gendry swears he's never seen anyone so pretty. _

_ "It definitely is. But film developing? That's cool." He smiled down at her.  _

_ Her grey eyes met his blue ones, and she decided blue was her new favorite color. "Yeah it is."  _

_ "Arya!" She turned to see Sansa waving her over by the cotton candy stand and turned back to him and offered him a wave as a goodbye. _

_ As she turned to leave he found himself wanting her to stay, to have more witty banter and talk about developing film or anything really. "How do you know Robb Stark?" He called out to her. Robb Stark was what he decided upon and he wanted to hit himself upside the head. _

_ She turned back around and looked at him like he grew another head "He's my brother."  _

_ "You must know him pretty well then?" Gendry has had his fair share of saying stupid things, but he thinks this one takes the cake. _

_ Arya laughed and looked at him curiously "I'd hope so." _

_ He joined in her light laughter, "I'm Gendry by the way." _

_ "You have a name? That's a shame, I was looking forward to calling you a stupid bull," she paused for a moment "Or your edgy highness. They're both rather fitting." _

_ He looked at her, genuinely stunned by how unafraid she was of him."You know you shouldn't insult people that are bigger than you."  _

_ She smirked up at him "Then I wouldn't get to insult anyone." She started walking backwards towards the cotton candy stand where Sansa was, before pausing to properly introduce herself. _

_ "I'm Arya, in case you didn't hear Robb's motherly cry of my name" she smiled at him "See you around Gendry, try not to bump into people that are smaller than you." _

_ Gendry smiled at her. "As m'lady commands." _

_ Arya grimaced at him "Don't call me that." And then she turned around completely and left Gendry by the bumper cars to himself, grinning like a fool. _

_ He knew that wouldn't be the last he saw of Arya Stark, he hoped it wouldn't be.  _

_ No sooner than when she started speaking to him did all his grumpiness drop. She unarmed all of his 'edginess'. _

_ Gendry had always just been close to the people who grew up with him in his neighborhood, Anguy, Hot Pie and Tom, and that was that. He didn't go out of his way to make friends at Winterfell Prep. In fact, Gendry had never made a friend before up until this very moment. He found he quite liked the feeling of making friends, or at the very least, making friends with Arya Stark, who is incredibly tiny and rolls her eyes. Arya Stark, who when Gendry pushed her, she pushed back. Arya Stark, who said 'it's just an edge.'. _

Gendry shakes his head at the memory of meeting Arya and decides that if she was brave enough to push back and speak to the boy everybody thought was too ill-tempered to approach, then he could be brave enough and go into the room she was in with everybody else.

He got up and made his way down the hall to catch up with the rest of the Starks.

"Decided to come after all, lover boy?" Rickon asked.

Gendry offered him a shaky smile before draping his arm of his shoulder, "Now or never. I waited-  _ we waited  _ 2 and a half weeks for her to wake up. Nothing should stop me, not even fear."

Rickon smiled up at him and they walked forward with the others and through the doors that would lead them all to the unknown.

\---

They all reached the door and Doctor Luwin stepped out for a small moment. They all looked at each other, then at him. "What's the matter?" Bran asked.

"Nothing, I'm just asking her a few questions before you all walk in. I'm going to head back in and finish asking her, and then I'll let you all in. Sound good?" Doctor Luwin asked. 

"Of course." Sansa answered and Doctor Luwin walked back into the room.

"Fifty bucks she remembers Jon first." Theon spoke, earning him a handful of glares from everyone except for Jon, whose eyes perked up.

"You think?" He asked.

"No." Sansa, Robb, Bran, Rickon and Gendry all said at the same time.

Jon started brooding,"You're all a bunch of Debbie downers."

"Okay so you saw all those faces while you were out?" Doctor Luwin asked her again, to be sure.

"Yes. A lot of them. But there are a few that stand out more than others. They're a bit clearer." Ned and Cat looked pleased at that. It was a sure fire sign that Arya would remember them all eventually. 

"Like which faces? What's different about them?" Doctor Luwin asked, wanting to be sure that sending in her siblings and brother in law and future husband would be well worth the risk.

"Well there's a lot of red hair, like a lot. There's a man that looks like me and my father. A lot of blue eyes. Some brown hair. One of the more clearer faces has black hair, facial hair, his eyes I can see perfectly. They're welcoming and the bluest ones out of all of them."

Ned and Cat smiled at one another. Of course even without completely remembering him she'd still remember something.

"And the names? Did you write them down like I suggested?" Doctor Luwin asked.

Arya nodded, "Yeah, although I could've just said them, they were all I could hear while I was out. I still don't know who they belong to, but I know them all. There's two or three that I hear more than the others, but I still hear them all."

"Which names?"

"Jon and Sansa. The one that gets said the most is Gendry." She furrowed her brows, unsure of what exactly it meant that she heard that name the most or what the feelings she got whenever she heard it meant.

"Alright. This was all very good. I'll be sure to speak more to you about this later. But for now, you have some very eager visitors." Doctor Luwin smiled.

He stepped out of the room again.

Arya, for all she knew (and it wasn't much) felt pretty nervous. The other people, the rest of her  _ family  _ was about to walk through the door. She's not so sure she's ready, but she doesn't know how to be ready, not when she doesn't remember. 

Ned and Cat stared at each other then at Arya. 

"Are you alright dear? You look a bit anxious." Cat said, her dripping in concern and sympathy.  _ I'm happy you're my mother,  _ Arya smiled to herself.

"Just a bit nervous I suppose. But that should go away once I see them all. I hope it does."

The three of them all smiled before they all snapped their heads towards the knocks.

"You ready, sweet girl?" Ned asked her.

She did her best to show no nerves and nodded her head a little too enthusiastically.

"Alright," He said "Come in."

Doctor Luwin opened the door and one by one, they all littered themselves through the door and into the room.

\---

They all stared at her. They were all in one room together, and she was with them too now. Only without her memory.

She looked at each of them, deciding that these were in fact the fuzzy faces she dreamed about for so long.

As her eyes went past face after face, they met Jon's. She felt her heart blooming and unknowingly she smiled at him, a twinkle in her eyes. Theon smirked and Jon didn't hesitate to smile back.

Her eyes met Gendry's and she felt a rush of warmth spread through her whole body and her heart picking up speed and clenching all at once. His expression was soft, like he couldn't believe she was actually there.

"Him. They're his." She said without thinking and pointed it out to her parents and Doctor Luwin.

"You're sure?" Doctor Luwin asked.

"With eyes that blue? How could I not be?" Gendry found himself blushing at her words, even though he had no idea what the context was.

Her father and mother shared a small secret smile while they watch Arya stare at Gendry and Gendry stare right back.

Theon broke the silence, "What's him exactly?"

It was then she remembered he wasn't the only one in the room with her. She looked at her family before looking up and wondering how best to explain it.

"While I was...resting, all I saw were a bunch of faces,  _ your  _ faces. They were mostly a bit blurry, like a picture out of focus. But there were a few, clearer than others." She paused and looked at the man with black hair and blue eyes, "His was one of the clear ones." 

Gendry wasn't sure if the world sped up or slowed down, but all he could think about was that she saw his face. She didn't remember who he was, but she could see his face now and it's the same face she saw while she was out. That had to mean something didn't it?

"Oh, I uh, I also heard names. A lot of them. I'm sure they all belong to you." She said sheepishly. Sansa watched her with longing in her eyes, eager for the sister who wasn't so shy around her family to return.

"I'm going to assume you don't know whose name is who?" Robb asked from where he was. She looked at him apologetically and shook her head.

"No, but I'll learn. I have them all written down-"

"You do?" Rickon asked. 

She smiled at him and nodded.

"Can you read them?" She laughed lightly and they all didn't realize how much they'd missed that sound, before she grabbed the paper on the table next to her bed.

Arya's eyes locked with Sansa's and she smiled at her. Sansa smiled back warmly. "I'm going to guess you're Sansa because it's the only other girl name here apart from Catelyn, and you're the only other girl." 

Sansa's grin widened, but before she could respond, Theon spoke up "Actually, I'm Sansa."

Arya's eyes widened "Really? I'm sor-"

"You idiot, don't do that!" Sansa swatted his arm before turning back to Arya.

"You were right, I am Sansa, your sister, he was just messing with you." Sansa said comfortingly. 

Arya looked between Sansa and Not Sansa and then laughed again. "When I get my memory back, I'll get you back for that." She said pointing at him. He smiled at her.

Robb, Jon and Bran smiled at each other, glad to see that even without her memory and without even knowing she was doing it really, she was still so Arya.

Arya remembered what she was doing and cleared her throat before she looked at the paper.

"There's Rickon and Robb." She looked at all of them, hoping for some kind of hint. When she realized they weren't going to give her an inch, she kept reading the names.

"Bran, Theon and Jon." She looked up at them again. She frowned at them. "Not a single hint?"

They all shook their heads at her. "Guess!!" Rickon said excitedly.

"Wait- were those all the names?" Robb asked as he looked over at Gendry.

"Oh, no. Those were all the sibling names. Mum and Dad helped me separate them, there's one m-"

"What is it?" Bran cut her off.

She stared at him, smiling at how eager they all were.

"Gendry," She studied all of them, realizing they really weren't going to tell her who was who. Her grey eyes settled on those icy blue ones."Gendry."

He tried so hard to train his face into a hard expression, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't stop the saltiness in his eyes. He couldn't stop the smile working it's way over his face. He couldn't stop any of it.

He let out a breathy laugh and nodded his head. 

"Really?" She asked, hopeful and excited. She got it right. She hoped she would and she did. His smile grew and he nodded his head again.

"Really."

"Well that's hardly fair." Robb grumbled to Jon. 

Jon rolled his eyes at Robb before smiling at Arya, who was mesmerized by the man, the  _ Gendry _ she has yet to remember, but will.

"How about the rest of you lot reintroduce yourselves to her. It'll help instead of sitting here trying to make her guess." Ned suggested.

They all nodded and Arya tore her gaze away from Gendry's eyes and focused on the other men who refused to give her their names.

"I'm Bran, your brother" Bran said, and she knew it was right.

"Theon, brother-in-law." He said happily. 

"I'm going to call you Not-Sansa" She smiled and he let out a bark of laughter at that.

"Robb. Your older brother-"

"Oldest*" Bran corrected, earning him a glare from Robb.

"Rickon, the youngest and your favorite." He said mischievously.

"Don't spread lies, young man, we all know I'm her favorite. I'm-"

"Jon?" She finished for him.

His eyes got excited and he nodded "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"It was the only name left." She teased. They all began to laugh at that and they all for a sweet and brief moment felt like it was normal, like Arya hadn't lost her memory. They couldn't wait for it to be normal again. It felt cruel that she was here and had so much Arya in her and she hadn't even realized it.

"I thought I was special." Jon pouted.

"You are, I promise! I'll remember how special you are. I know I will. It might be a while though but I'll remember." She said with hope and what she hadn't realized was love laced through her voice. 

_ I'll remember them.  _

"Alright, lets get you all out of here for the night and let the girl rest-" Doctor Luwin started before Arya cut him off.

"Can I speak to one of you?" She asked timidly.

They all looked at her, and Ned and Cat smiled at her "Of course you can, love. Who did you want to speak to?" Ned asked.

She didn't say anything, instead she fixed her eyes on Gendry. His eyes widened in surprise and his lips parted slightly. _He's_ _handsome_ she thought.

"Me?" He asked, trying to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

She felt her nerves bundle together at the way he was looking at her, "You." She nodded.

He let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in,"Okay, yeah." He chanced a smile at her.

She smiled back.

"Alright, you heard the boss lady, lets give her and Gendry some privacy!" Theon said, earning him a few sharp pinches from too many Starks to keep count of.

"You are all cruel people and I regret marrying into this torment." He pouted. Sansa rolled her eyes before they were all pushed out by Ned, Cat and Doctor Luwin.

"After you finish speaking, be sure to rest Arya. You've done a lot today for someone who just woke up. And whether you see it or not, a great deal of progress." Doctor Luwin said. She nodded and he closed the door behind him.

Gendry stood by the door, his eyes never leaving Arya's face. 

"You can sit by me you know, I don't bite." 

_ Not in public  _ Gendry thought to himself before scolding himself for having that thought now of all times.

He moved to sit in the chair right next to her bed.

"Was there anything in particular you wanted to speak ab-"

"How did we meet?" She cut him off. 

His eyes expanded and he felt his breath hitch at her question. She stared at him expectantly. How strange of her to know without really knowing he'd tell her whatever she wants him to tell her. __

Gendry just kept staring at her, unsure of what to do. Oh. _ Oh. Can I tell her how we met? Is that allowed? What are the rules? I don't know what to do.  _

"Gendry?" She spoke softly. _ I think I broke him. _

He was in for it now, wasn't he?


	4. Is this what it feels like to break?

Gendry averted his gaze away from Arya's face, unsure of what to do. He thought long and hard.  _ What do I do? _

Arya had been so excited earlier. She was matching names to faces, but she didn't know what any of it meant. As much as these people were her family, she still has no idea who any of them really are. And that scares her and makes her sad all at once.

Gendry finally finds the strength in himself to lift his gaze.

He looks Arya in her grey eyes and immediately wishes he hadn't.

He didn't find any of the warmth, love and comfort that her eyes usually held for him. He didn't see any of the storms that brewed behind those cloudy eyes, he didn't find any fire in her gaze.

All he sees is cold grey, and where that color once was his favorite and wrapped around him like a warm blanket in the coldest of winters, all it leaves him now is feeling cold and lonely.

Her eyes are the cold winter now.

She figured out who he was earlier, but she doesn't really know what that means.

She doesn't know him.

_ She doesn't know me. Is this what it feels like to break?  _

"Am I allowed to tell you that?" He asked, attempting to distract himself from his inner sadness.

"I'm not sure. Maybe you don't have to tell me everything. Just a small detail?" She asked him, and it bothered him. Arya never hesitated. She didn't ask to know things, she demanded to know them. 

He stood up, deciding that sitting down wasn't the best thing for his nerves. "You sure?" he asked her, she nodded.

He looked in her eyes again, and maybe he was wrong. Maybe they aren't cold, maybe it's just his sadness and self pity, but he sees them softening. Maybe there's warmth left in them.

"We could talk about something else for a bit if that's easier and then I'll ask later."

"No it's fine, I'll just tell you-"

"No no let's do that. I want to do that first actually." She says and he stares at her before letting out a gentle laugh. This felt more like Arya. 

"As you wish m'l-" He cut himself off.  _ It's too soon for that. _

"I mean, what do you want to talk about?"

"Who's your favorite out of everybody that was just in here?"

He looked at her funny,"Are you seriously asking me that?" He asks, disbelieving. Here she was, awake with no memory, and instead of pestering him with a million different things, she wants to know who his favorite Stark is.

She stared back at him "Yeah, I mean unless you don't want to talk about it? Is that a touchy topic? Do you not play favorites?" She asked.

He smiled at her.  _ You're my favorite. _

"I'll tell you who's my favorite after you remember who's yours."

She laughed "Sounds fair." 

Hearing her laugh, watching her act so calmly around him made him feel at ease, and not for the first time since stepping into the room, he wonders why he was so afraid to see her like this. 

\---

"I can't believe you like mushrooms on your pizza. That's absolutely horrendous." Arya grimaced. 

He just shook his head at her and laughed. He wished more than anything for her to remember him, but he quite liked getting to witness her getting to know him all over again. It gave him relief to still see so much of herself in her, even if she was lost.

"Yeah, that's what you said the first time you found out. It was quite the fiasco. I brought home an entire mushroom pie. You didn't speak to me for an hour." He smiled fondly at the memory.

"So we live together then?"

"What?"

"What?"

"How did you- oh fuck. I said brought home." Gendry scolded himself.

She smiled at Gendry,"It's okay. I won't ask anymore questions about before I lost my memory. Not until you're ready to tell me."

Her eyes shone with nothing but pure understanding and he wonders how he thought them to be cold when he looked at her earlier.  _ Paranoia you idiot. You're scared she's not going to remember you. _

He shook the thought away and returned the smile. "It's so strange."

"What is?" She scrunched up her face in that way that always makes him lean over to kiss her.  _ I can't kiss her yet. _

"You're still so Arya." He said.

"Oh," She met his eyes, "I wish I knew what that meant."

His face had an unreadable expression, except for his eyes. Arya figured out pretty quickly that this Gendry of hers- _ is he mine?- _ could make his face as hard as possible, but he'd never be able to contain the emotions behind those blue eyes.

They were sad now. 

It was the wrong thing to say.

"You'll know eventually." He offered her a smile, though it seemed more like he was trying to reassure himself.

"Thank you." She made sure to keep his eyes on hers.

"For what?"

"Staying, and speaking. I know this must not be easy. It's really scary for me. I mean, there's so many of you. You all remember me and know who you lost, I don't remember everything, just the few things I showed you all. I just- I really appreciate you staying. and speaking." She finished with what she started.

He felt his pulse quicken, "Of course. It doesn't matter how hard any of it is, if it's for you, I- _ we,"  _ he paused "we will endure."

She smiled at him, a soft and warm smile. He felt himself melt,  _ like putty. _

He smiled back and looked at the clock and realized an entire hour and a half passed. 

"I should probably go. You need to rest. You've done a lot today." He said, and he hoped she could hear the love in his voice.

She nodded. "Yeah, I should rest. You'll be back tomorrow right?" She asked, and his heart swelled and broke at the same time from all the hope in her eyes.

_ Where else would I be?  _ "Of course." He smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow. Bright and early," she laughed at that. "Goodnight Arya."  _ I love you. _

"Goodnight Gendry. See you tomorrow." 

\----

"Took you long enough." Robb said to Gendry as he came back to the waiting room. He sent a glare his way.

"We were talking okay. I'll stay however long she wants me to, I only left so she could rest." 

Robb held his hands up defensively, "Chill out will you."

"What did you guys talk about?" Sansa asked.

"She wanted me to tell her how we met." 

All of their eyes widened.

"Did you?" Ned asked.

"No, I wasn't sure if I was allowed. She figured that out pretty quickly. So she just got to know me all over again. Not completely, just little things like favorite foods and colors."

They all didn't know if they should be relieved or not. "Would we be allowed to tell her?" he asked tentatively.

Cat looked at him and gave him a small smile, "There are no rules against it, but it's Arya, so I'm certain we'd all struggle saying no to her anyways."

Gendry couldn't agree with that sentiment more.

"Who's staying?" Theon asked.

"Ned and I. The rest of you will go home and shower and rest properly. That's a direct order to each of you" She fixed her stern gaze on Gendry who opted for staring at his shoes instead of his future mother in laws sharp eyes. "I trust you'll all be back here tomorrow anyways." She smiled.

They all said their goodbyes, with promises of texting them when they got home safe. Ned and Cat made themselves comfortable in the waiting room. A weight was being lifted.

\----

This time, in what Arya feels like might be the first time, although how can she be sure, she's afraid to go to sleep. She's afraid to close her eyes.  _ What if I go to sleep and don't wake up? I was out for nearly 3 weeks. _

She shook her head, trying to rid the thoughts and laid back in the hospital bed. Doctor Luwin told her she'd be discharged within the next 3 days before she went to bed. It didn't seem like a lot, but Arya learned that time goes as fast or slow as it wants, whenever you don't want it to.

She was grateful to have spoken to Gendry before resting.  _ He's nice. I like him. _ She didn't know why, but she just felt like she needed to talk to him, like it would make everything better.  _ I wonder who he is to me. _

She closed her eyes and fell asleep with the image of black hair and blue eyes clear in her mind. She felt safe. She felt at home.

It was dark and all she could hear were car horns.

She was in the drivers seat, her window was down. 

_ "WATCH OUT!!" She turned her head to the left and all she saw was white. _

_ All she could hear were tires screeching, glass shattering. She felt it scratch her face. She was  supposed to be home by now, with Gendry.  The car was flipping,  cars don't flip.  Her head hit the wheel one, two,  three times. There was blood.  There shouldn't be blood.  _

_ The other car was crushed on the other side of the street. Whoever crashed into her was surely gone for good. _

_ Her vision was clouding, everything was fading away. It was all hazy.  Where am I?  Her mind was slipping from her grasp. Her car finally landed upside down. She was stuck in her seat. Her eyes were closing. _

_ "SOMEBODY CALL 911!!" _

Everything went black.

\---

Arya woke up, clutching her head. It was  _ pounding. _ What was that? Why did it feel so real?

She felt more scared than when she woke up the first time without her memory.  _ Was that a memory? Was that how I lost my memory? _

She didn't want to go back to sleep, so she cried instead.

She cried for that terrible dream- _ memory. _ She cried for her mother and father, who looked at her with sad eyes because  _ how doesn't she recognize them?  _

She cried for Robb, Jon and Sansa, who were excited because she woke up, excited because they might get Arya back but they didn't know how.

She cried for Bran and Rickon, who lost a big sister, a fellow pack member and have to watch her struggle to remember. 

She cried for Theon who made jokes to hide his hurting.

She cried for Gendry. Gendry, who she didn't know but her heart very clearly did. Gendry who looked at her with those eyes that wanted to tell her everything. A sob escaped her. She doesn't even know who Gendry lost, but she obviously meant something to him.  _ Who is he? Who was I? _

But most of all she cried for herself because nobody wanted Arya to come back more than she did.


	5. Do you want to hold my hand?

Her eyes stung as she opened them, still adjusting to the saltiness left in them after she cried herself to sleep. She sat up in her hospital bed, praying for the next 3 days to go by in a flash so that she could go home.  _ Home? Where is home? _

Her thoughts were disrupted when there was a knock on the door. 

"Come in."She croaked, her voice still raspy from crying and laced with tiredness.

Doctor Luwin walked in and offered Arya a smile before closing the door behind him.

"How'd you sleep, Arya?" He asked her, observing her in her tired state.

"Not very well, if I'm being honest. I had a pretty bad dream and had trouble falling back to sleep after that." Arya answered honestly.

Doctor Luwin's face shifted slightly, suddenly intrigued,"What was the dream about?"

Arya was staring straight ahead of her, shuddering at the memory of what she saw in her dreams last night. She turned to look at Doctor Luwin and her parents walked in when she spoke next.

"I was in a car accident." All their eyes widened at that.

"You remember?" Ned asked, his mouth agape.

"So that's how I lost my memory then?" She asked. She felt her stomach turn. She's certain she would've had fresh tears if she hadn't wasted them all last night.

"Yes, Arya. You were in a car accident." Doctor Luwin answered.

"What happened? How did it happen?" She couldn't resist asking.

"You were driving home-"  _ to Gendry _ she heard a voice in the back of her head. 

She shook it away.

"And you were rounding the corner to your apartment. It was your light, you drove forward and then this drunk driver came out of nowhere and collided with your car. It was a very hard crash, it flipped both cars and the drunk driver died on impact as soon as his car landed." Doctor Luwin explained to her, as it was explained by the many eye witnesses to the accident.

Arya just nodded her head in understanding, feeling the sharp pain returning to her head, like somebody was poking her brain over and over without rest.

_ "Arya, Arya wake up. Arya! Somebody help! Somebody call 911!" _

Arya winced at the sound of a very familiar voice in her mind.

Ned and Cat watched her, pain in their eyes."Are you alright lovey?" Cat asked, walking forward to stand by Arya's bed. Arya looked up at her, smiling at her concern.

"I'm alright. Just a small headache."

Cat smiled back,"Do you want to hold my hand?"she asked her before she grabbed Arya's hand.

_ "Do you want to hold my hand?" _

_ "Mum I don't need you to hold my hand! I can cross the street on my own!!" _

_ "Arya Stark, you are barely 7 years of age young lady, you won't stop holding my hand until I stop needing you to, do you understand my love?" Cat bent down to stand at Arya's level. Arya rolled her eyes before her face broke out into a grin and she nodded her head. _

_ "Alright now, once more. Do you want to hold my hand?" Cat asked her, a knowing smile on her face. _

_ Arya laughed before lunging herself into Cat's arms, who was laughing at Arya's sudden enthusiasm,"Yes I do." _

Arya wasn't sure what that was. She suspected it was her memory making an attempt at coming back, but she still didn't remember enough. She squeezed Cat's hand. Cat squeezed back.

\----

They all came back, taking their time this time because the only waiting left to be done was Arya getting her memory back. Robb was with Sansa and Theon on one side while Bran was with Meera on the chairs opposite them, Jon and Ygritte next to them. Rickon had gone to get snacks.

"I can't believe she's actually awake." Jon said happily. Ygritte squeezed his hand.

"Sorry I couldn't be here when she woke up, Tormund and Sandor said the office was falling apart without their boss lady keeping everything in check." 

Jon smiled at her,"It's alright. I know. They need you, plus Arya's yet to truly remember any of us yet." Jon said the last bit with tension in his voice, worry etching its way to his face.

Ygritte gave him a sympathetic look before she put her hand on his cheek,"It'll be alright pretty boy." 

He looked at her before nodding,"I know."

Her lips quirked up and she got a playful look in her eyes,"You know nothing, Jon Snow."

Jon could feel the tension melting away and at her words, he cracked a smile.

Rickon walked down from the end of the hallway, snacks in hand. "Alright, I got two packs of sour skittles, 3 bags of potato crisps, 1 snickers bar, 1 kit kat bar, and with all of the mighty seven frowning down upon me, Theon's almond joy." 

"Hey! Almond Joy's are under appreciated enough as it is, I will not take this slander." Theon snatched his almond joy away from the youngest Stark and marched back to his seat.

Rickon rolled his eyes,"Almond Joy's are the scum of the Earth and I think you might be the only person in all of Westeros that eats them, which makes sense when you think about it cause there isn't anyone quite like you Theon."

Theon glared at Rickon before ultimately shrugging and nodding in agreement, "You have a point, I guess." 

They all laughed. 

Things were easing back into the way they used to be. If any of them were being honest, things hadn't felt right, not for 2 and a half weeks when Gendry called them all from the sight of the accident after he left the comfort of his and Arya's flat to see what the noise was outside of their building.

He had been absolutely hysterical saying she wasn't waking up and he didn't know what to do, what he  _ would  _ do without her.

"Sorry I'm late," Gendry spoke, as he walked around two doctors making a prognosis for somebody with greyscale.  _ Nasty stuff _ he thought to himself,"Davos wanted me to pick up this get well soon basket he made for Arya after I told him she woke up." 

Jon smiled fondly at the mention of Davos and Sansa looked at Gendry, noticing the basket he was in fact carrying. 

"Gotta love Davos." Bran said, and they all made noises of agreement.

"Has anyone gone in to see her yet?" Gendry asked.

"Take a long hard look and tell me who isn't in the room." Theon said, earning him a scowl from Gendry.

"I don't need your sass so early in the morning, Theon Greyjoy."

"This is a non stop train of sass, my friend, so get on board." Theon smiled. He was promptly flicked by Rickon."Ow! Little dude, I thought you loved me, I'm married to your sister, so you at least love me by law." 

"That isn't how that works-"

"That's how it works with Sansa, right babe?" Sansa rolled her eyes.

"I love you cause I love you Theon, there are no legal benefits to marrying you, quite the opposite for you however." Sansa shrugged easily.

Theon made a face of mock surprise,"Sansa Stark- sorry, scuse me, Sansa Greyjoy, apple of my eye, you break my heart."

Sansa laughed for only a second before leaning forward and kissing Theon soundly.

"I'm the only person who can-"

"I'm so glad I skipped breakfast this morning." Rickon muttered.

"Okay, back to what I was saying. How long have the in laws been in there?" Gendry spoke again.

"In laws?" Robb asked, eyes wide with amusement. "Did you and Arya get married already?"

Gendry huffed,"I don't need to remind you that we were meant to be getting married a week from today. But yes, in laws." Gendry crossed his arms over his chest.

Sansa looked between the two of them before laughing and then answering Gendry, "About half an hour, maybe a full hour. We've been keeping ourselves entertained really."

Gendry nodded his head in understanding. "Who's going in next?" He asked.

Sansa looked at the floor then back up at Gendry who was smiling warmly at her,"You I'm guessing?"

She nodded sheepishly "If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't Sansa, you're her sister. It'd be pretty selfish of me to keep her all to myself-"

"You had no problem hogging her when she  _ did  _ remember us." Theon said, amusement lacing his voice.

"One more peep Greyjoy, just one more." Gendry said while shaking his head at Theon and moving to sit between Bran and Jon.

"I'm just saying, it's quite disturbing the amount of times I've walked in on you and Arya in some very risque-"

"My ears, oh god, my ears. These are things a brother should never hear about his sister." Bran spoke, Jon, Robb and Rickon nodding in agreement.

"Theon Greyjoy, you shut your dirty mouth." Ygritte spoke.

"I second that." Meera agreed before smiling at Theon.

"Reed I thought we reached common ground-"

"You still threw a red shell at me and I came in second place. There are just some things you don't forgive." Meera said.

"Amen to that." Robb agreed. Theon looked between all the Starks and company.

"I hadn't received the memo that it's 'Pick on Theon' day." He pouted.

"Don't be ridiculous Theon, today isn't pick on Theon day," Bran spoke and Theon smiled,"Everyday is pick on Theon day!" Bran finished excitedly. Theon's face fell.

"Arya wouldn't treat me this way-"

"No she wouldn't. She would be ten times worse." Jon smiled affectionately.

"Yeah she would be, wouldn't she?" Theon asked to no one in particular, but they all nodded, smiling to themselves at the thought of how Arya would cease her opportunity of harassing Theon.

"I miss her." Theon spoke again. 

All their faces got a little sad. "Me too." Bran said, all the others nodding.

"She'll come back." Sansa spoke, her voice dripping in honest certainty.

"How are you so sure?" Robb asked. She looked at him before smiling again.

"Because she's Arya. She's a Stark. She's as strong as we come."

And truly, she was.

\----

"Alright Arya, we're going to go back out there, but we are sending in more visitors, one at a time of course. And a few new faces. All throughout the day, slowly so that it doesn't overwhelm you." Ned said. Arya nodded.

"Sounds good to me." She smiled.

"Alright, lets go Cat."

"We'll be back later my love." She said sweetly.

"I know you will mum." Arya said, and she swears she sees love burst behind her mothers eyes.  _ She is my mother, she loves me. I think- no I do- I love her too. _

\----

There was a knock on the door. "Come in." Arya found herself getting comfortable with the sound of her voice.

She found herself getting comfortable with a lot ever since she woke up yesterday. She knew she liked curling up and snuggling up to her right side when she slept, although she found herself looking for another source of warmth on her side that wasn't there and she's not sure why. 

The door opened and long, red, wavy hair with such beautiful and crisp blue eyes walked through the door.

"Sansa." She smiled.

Sansa nodded happily, "That's me."

Arya was sat up in her bed, she folded her legs in front of her and she patted the space on the bed that wasn't occupied for Sansa to sit.

Sansa smiled,"Anytime I would stay over your place, you always did that."

"Did what?"

"Made space for me."

Arya didn't know what to say to that, so instead she just smiled down at her lap. "I did a lot I can't remember."

Sansa reached out for one of Arya's hands. "You will."

She nodded in agreement. A look crossed over Arya's face while several thoughts ran through her mind.

"What are you thinking about?" Sansa asked her, already recognizing the look on Arya's face from whenever they had sleepover's in either one of their apartment's and got drunk off of cheap wine and decided to have boy talk.

"Gendry." She answered honestly.  _ I don't remember much, what else could I lose? _

Sansa smirked knowingly,"Ah. I see." 

"What's with the smirk? You know things, don't you?" Arya questioned with sudden excitement.  _ So much the same  _ Sansa thought to herself.

"I know more than Jon, that's for sure." Sansa snorted, before looking Arya in the eyes and nodding, "What about Gendry were you thinking?"

"Who is he? To me, or to all of you at least?" Arya wanted to know more than anything who Gendry was, and while he certainly didn't seem like a puzzle of a person, he could be as hard to read as a wall from what she gathered talking to him last night, but she also didn't want to force anyone into a corner to tell her things.

"He's our friend, everybody's friend. He's just a lot closer to you more than anyone." Sansa answered,  _ It's not not true, but I can't tell her. It has to be Gendry  _ Sansa thought to herself.

Arya nodded, not entirely satisfied with the answer but accepting it.  _ Beggars can't be choosers. _

For a while, they both just stared absentmindedly in different directions, before Arya cleared her throat and scooted closer to Sansa. Sansa looked at her at that.

"What about you?"

Sansa blinked, "What  _ about  _ me?" Sansa asked. Arya rolled her eyes, like it was what she was meant to do.

"You know what I mean. How close are you and I? I have to assume a lot. I heard your name a lot when I was sleeping." 

Sansa, while she wanted Arya's memory to come back more than anything, found herself appreciating how unfiltered, honest and seemingly affectionate Arya seems to be without realizing it. She's not holding back.

"We're practically best friends. Don't tell Gendry or Theon, they'll drown in a river of their tears." Sansa giggled.

Arya laughed, "I believe that. I guess growing up together does that to people and being sisters helped." 

Sansa found herself growing uncomfortable at that,"Not exactly." She needed to be honest with her if she wanted any chance of any memory's rattling her mind loose from the vice like grip the amnesia has on her.

"Tell me." Arya said warmly. She wouldn't hate Sansa, she wanted to know Sansa.

Sansa took in a deep breath,  _ I might not be able to tell her about Gendry, but I can tell her about me.  _

"We didn't get along very much growing up. In fact, everybody thought we hated each other. I suppose at one point that might have been true. I was awful towards you. It came to a breaking point in an incident involving an old friend of mine. We were both just so different, I didn't know how to understand you." Sansa paused, feeling her emotions building up in her. Arya rubbed her hand comfortingly on her back.

"It's okay, if it's too hard to talk about-"

"No no it's fine, it just hurts knowing there was a time that I was so horrible to you and I let someone else be horrible to you, it hurts, but I want you to know." 

Sansa for as long as she had known, wanted nothing more than to erase that part of her childhood when Jeyne Poole would bully Arya and she would bully her too. 

It was like salt in a wound to think about that and a permanent scar on how put together she was, but now that Arya was actually here, without any recollection of anything, she wanted nothing more than for her to remember, even every last ugly memory of  _ Lumpyhead _ and Arya _ Horseface,  _ anything really that would make her remember.

"I had this friend, Jeyne, and for a while we would pick on you. We'd call you these awful names and just be so mean because you didn't like what we liked. You always seemed so tough so it never occurred to me that anything I actually said bothered you. But I never asked. Then one day, the spring before you started high school, we had this massive blow up. Jeyne said something to you that stung me even."

"What did she say?" Arya asked, her voice quiet and small.

"She said you were the sister I got stuck with and she was the sister I chose." Sansa said, hot shame burning through her.

"Oh."

"Yeah. It gets worse."

Arya laughed, not seeing how anything might hurt two sisters more than that,"How?"

"You looked at me, waiting for me to disagree, to defend you, to tell Jeyne she was wrong. But I didn't. I just looked at the ground and kept my mouth shut. When I looked up, your eyes were wide and there were all these tears in your eyes and I felt like dying because how could I make my own sister cry?" Sansa's voice was becoming scratchy.

"Anyways, Jeyne had this smug look on her face and you made to leave the living room, which also happened to be when our entire family decided to walk in. They stopped you, asked you what was wrong, if you were okay and-" She breathed in, how could she say this out loud, to Arya,  _ about  _ Arya.

"And what?"

"You looked back at me and Jeyne. Then you looked at all of them. Mum, Dad, Robb, Jon, Bran and Rickon. You said 'What do you care if I'm okay? I'm the daughter your stuck with, not the one you chose.' Then you locked yourself in your room for the rest of the night and actively went out of your way to avoid all of us. It was everybody's least favorite April hands down." Sansa finished sadly. Arya's hand slowed its movement on Sansa's back before she took it off altogether. Sansa felt a sigh escape her,  _ I shouldn't have told her.  _

All at once, before she even realized it was happening and before Arya even realized she was doing it, she pulled Sansa into a hug. "Thank you for telling me."

They pulled away and smiled at one another.

"Eventually we spoke things out, Jeyne apologized, and that summer before your freshman year and my sophomore year we became super close and just spent the whole summer rebuilding our relationship. It worked and I stopped being friends with Jeyne in junior year after another incident, as if the last one hadn't been the mother of all red flags." She laughed at how stupid she thought she had been.

"We became best friends and the more time went on, the more inseparable we were. And now here we are."

"Here we are." Arya nodded her head.

They let the silence wash over them before Sansa turned completely so she was facing Arya and she grabbed both of her hands in her own.

"Arya what Jeyne had said-it was awful and I'm so-"

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I wasn't a good sister-"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Arya," Sansa gave her a pointed look.

"Sansa." She mocked back.

Sansa sighed and shook her head,  _ So so much the same, _ "I'm just trying to apologize."

Arya felt a sharp pain jolt through her brain and into her heart at those 5 words.  _ I'm just trying to apologize! _

"You don't need to."

"I do."

"I don't remember."

"Right you are. But you will. And I want you to know that I didn't choose my sister. Whatever miserable old god, or gods, are out there knew who'd be right for me. We didn't pick each other, not in the slightest, because we were always meant to be sisters. And while it might be a lottery with who our family is, we know who we pick when we pick our friends. And you and I like each other by choice." 

S he knew that Sansa was telling her the honest to gods truth and that she loved Arya more than she ever knew she could love Arya. Arya didn't know how she knew, but she just did.

"I love you Arya." Sansa said, earnestly.

"I don't know how I know, but I know I love you too."

\----

Gendry, for a lot of the night and all of right now, found himself thinking about his conversation with Arya in her hospital room.  _ It wouldn't be bad if I told her right? There is no protocol that goes against this right?  _

"You look like you're thinking really hard there son." Ned said, as he sat closer to Gendry.

He had always been fond of the boy ever since Arya brought him home when she was a freshman saying she had her own life sized cheat sheet for her mechanical engineering elective.

Gendry smiled at him, grateful to have him and Davos as the father figures in his life he had always been searching for. "I am. Just wondering what to do about the whole telling Arya how we met thing."

Ned nodded thoughtfully, letting Gendry's words pull him into his own train of thought. 

"Doctor Luwin said if she wants to know, we'd be allowed to tell her. It won't necessarily affect how fast or slow she remembers us, maybe a few things we say or do when we talk to her might trigger something, but as far as actually telling her about her life before the amnesia, we could if we want to and if she wants us to." Ned spoke with warmth and care.

Gendry nodded and smiled at Ned. 

He was certain that telling Arya how they met and everything would be fine. She still does things the way she had when she still had her memory, much to the surprise of everyone. 

She still teased Theon, she still winked mischievously at Rickon, still smiled with all the stars in her eyes at Jon, and still looked at Gendry like he was the only thing in the world, even if she didn't know it yet.

He wanted to tell her how they met more than anything. He just didn't want it to interfere with any remembering that might be done on Arya's part. And you can call him selfish but he also didn't want to tell her on the off chance that she'd remember it all on her own, without the play by play.  _ I am such a prick.  _

Gendry felt his mind taking him back to the first time he saw Arya again after they had officially met at the fair and he found himself smiling tenderly at the memory.

_ Arya felt a soft shove in her back and while it certainly didn't hurt or was enough to warrant the death glare she was getting ready to send this person's way, it didn't stop her from turning around, eyes narrowed and mouth trained in a scowl. _

_ "Why is it that everybody always bumps into-oh. It's you." Arya's face loosened from the hard and stoic glance she was casting to just narrowed eyes and an unimpressed frown. _

_ "M'lday." Gendry bowed. Arya rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from turning upwards.  _

_ "Don't call me that....your edgy highness." She laughed and Gendry found himself frowning at the title she gave for him before joining in her laughter. _

" _ How are you enjoying high school? I remember what it was like to be a freshman, I was so young, so naive." Gendry said wistfully. Arya rolled her eyes again. _

_ "You're what? A junior? So basically a freshman like yesterday. Get over yourself mr. I have wisdom beyond my years." She said with so much fierceness, Gendry wondered how he hadn't noticed her when he bumped into her the first time. _

" _ Alright I get it. Ha ha."  _

_ Arya smirked up at him before she noticed he had his schedule in his hand. She snatched it from him, "Hey! I need that." _

_ "Oh relax, I'm just seeing if we have any classes together." She said. _

_ "I don't see how we would, you're a freshman. I'm a junior. Unless you're taking AP classes." He said, completely honestly and without condescension. _

_ "I am indeed, and here we have AP physics together, AP calc, Home Ec.-shouldn't you have already taken Home Ec.- and lunch period together. Sweet." _

_ Gendry looked down at her, shocked, but not at all displeased that half of his schedule was exactly the same as hers. "AP physics and AP calc? At 14?" He asked in disbelief.  _

_ Arya smiled proudly, "Not to brag or anything of the like but I'm sort of a math and science whiz, if I do say so myself."  _

_ "You don't have to tell me twice-" _

" _ I did though" Arya snorted. Gendry glared at her. _

" _ Oh relax, Gendry. If we're going to be friends, you're going to have to get used to my abrasive charm." Arya said matter of factly. _

_ Gendry gave her a small smile, wonder twinkling his eyes,"We're going to be friends?" _

_ Arya smiled back,"Why on earth would I snatch your schedule from you and spend this long talking to you in an empty hallway if I didn't plan on being your friend?"  _

_ Gendry let out a light laugh,"You have a point." _

" _ I always do." _

Gendry could not wait until she remembered.

\----

There hadn't been a moment in his life where Jon didn't brood at least once a day. He found that now in particular, he had been brooding an awful lot. 

"How long is she going to spend in there?" 

Ygritte shoved him lightly,"Relax Jon. She's going to stay in there as long as Arya wants her too." 

Jon grumbled and a frown tugged down at his features like a child being told they couldn't have sweets before supper,"I suppose." 

Ygritte rolled her eyes before turning to Meera, the two girls joining in laughter.

"AH! Finally! Took you long enough." Jon was already up and out of his seat while Sansa was stalking down the end of the hall, only pausing for a second to roll her eyes at Jon's dramatics.

"She wants to see you, which I suppose is fitting since you're already standing." Sansa deadpanned.

"She wants to see Jon?" Robb asked.

"That's what I said." Sansa responded. Robb glared at her.

"Don't tell me Theon's sass has infected you."

"Why do we have so many children, Ned?"Cat asked, looking over all of them in their disgruntled states. That earned her a few sharp looks and cause her and Ned to laugh.

"Relax my babies, I'm only teasing."

"Well I'm off. Wish me luck." Jon said.

"Luck!!" They all said, in varying degrees of happiness and nervousness.

\----

"I know you." Arya said immediately when Jon walked in and made himself comfortable next to her on her bed.

Jon smiled,"You do?"

She nodded." You're Jon. I'm not certain entirely, but I think you're my favorite. Am I allowed to have favorites?" Her eyes were so wide with wonder, Jon couldn't resist leaning over and dropping a kiss to her forehead.

Her breath caught in her throat.  _ Jon Snow.  _ She doesn't know where that came from, but it sounded right. Him kissing her forehead with nothing but brotherly love and affection felt right. Felt natural.

"I'm your favorite sibling. Or cousin. Whichever you prefer. You usually prefer sibling."

Arya's face contorted in confusion,"Are you not my brother?" She asked.

Jon looked at her and smiled sadly,"I'm certain you'll remember one day, but I'll tell you anyways. My mother was your aunt, so technically we're cousins. My father died before I was born and she died giving birth to me."

Arya looked at him with sad eyes,"I'm so sorry."

Jon put an arm around her,"S'alright, baby sister."

"Anyways- your father- _ our  _ father really, took me in. He and Catelyn adopted me and raised me as their own. They hadn't told me until I was old enough to understand, but always made it clear that they loved me as one of their own, and I know truly that they do. They might not have given birth to me, but they've taken care of me all my life and treat me as their own and with that I can truly say they are my parents, and you," He pinched her cheek lovingly,"are my sister."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "Am I your favorite?" She asked.

"Funny little girl. You're everybody's favorite." She glared at him.  _ Funny little girl. Where have I heard that? _

"Yes, but am I yours?" 

His face grew serious,"As long as my heart is beating." She smiled up at him.

"I'm glad." 

\----

Jon had finished with Arya, eventually asking Ygritte to stop by. Arya was immediately taken with the woman she couldn't wait to remember, she was human spitfire.

Rickon went in and talked her ear off about all their favorite games.  He also mentioned that her lack of memory might give him an advantage against her in Smash bros. and Mario Kart, earning him a laugh from her way too loud for a hospital. He couldn't resist in joining in and immediately decided he won't love anything more than the sound of her laughter. 

Bran visited her followed by Meera and recognized how similar they were and desperately hoped that despite her lack of memory, Bran and Meera might be a couple. Bran didn't fail to remind her that she couldn't believe when they got together and was the first one jumping up and down for them. She appreciated Bran's laid back nature and found it a nice resting pace from her other easily excitable siblings. 

Theon went in, Sansa following, not trusting Theon to do anything that won't mess with Arya's mind. Arya decided on the spot that Theon is probably the only person on planet Earth that could manage to make his presence known in even the most sorrowful of situations. She found it was a trait she quite liked.

Robb went in and felt his heart growing twice as much at how much more Arya she was appearing. Surely speaking and bonding with her family was doing nothing but good things for her and Robb couldn't wait to help. He told her she's the only one his children will let nap with them and that they're always begging to stay at auntie Arya's apartment(and uncle 'Gendy' as baby Lailla pronounces. But he'd wait for Gendry to tell her that.), which can be a pain when he's in Winterfell and she's at Kings Landing.

It was finally Gendry's turn to visit her and he didn't realize how nervous he was until Robb had finally exited the room and was sitting with Jon and Sansa. He had decided that if she wanted to know how they met, he'd tell her after all. He'd tell her whatever she wanted to know. He'd never be able to tell her no, he never had been able to before, so why start now?

Each of the Starks all looked remarkably happier than this morning and evening last night when she woke up, a big part of it was due to each of their individual visits with Arya.

"It's your turn baby boy." Theon smiled.

"Don't call me that-"

"Daddy?"

"Theon" Sansa warned. Theon looked at Sansa before smiling, "Relax Sans, we all know you're daddy."

"Again, things brothers shouldn't hear." Jon muttered.

\----

"Gendry." She smiled at him.

They both liked the way his name sounded moving past her lips.

He closed the door behind him and set down the basket Davos put together for her on the table to his left.

He smiled at her,"Heard you wanted to see me." 

"I see, they're already spreading lies then." 

His eyes widened and she laughed, "I'm only teasing." He felt himself relax at those three words.

He walked further into the room standing at the foot of her bed. They both just stared at one another and Gendry could see gears turning in her mind. He knew what she wanted to talk about. He let out a sigh, "Go on."

This time her eyes widened, "Huh?"

He chuckled at her, 10 years he's known her and she's still the same, even when she's not. "Ask me what you want to ask me. Let's try this again."

"oh." she gave him a shy smile before readying herself.

A huff of air escaped her lips before she looked up at him.

"How did we meet?" Arya stared up into his blue eyes, her grey ones swirling with wonder and what he's starting to suspect as love-  _ no it's too soon for that, she hasn't remembered me yet.  _

"There were fireworks in the sky." He spoke softly. He looked down at her with such fondness she wondered to herself  _ how do I not remember him? _

His eyes never left hers, the same thought running through his mind over and over again in circles,  _ remember me. Remember  _ _us._


	6. Come On Strong, He'll Love It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theon gives some not-so subtle advice and maybe, just maybe, Arya takes it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!!
> 
> I know I'm only re-uploading this story so it shouldn't take so long, but I haven't really been on AO3 for a while so I stepped away, but the rest will be up, undoubtedly. 
> 
> Thank you!!

"Fireworks huh?" Her voice was so full of curiosity and he found himself wanting to answer every single question she wanted to ask him just because she was the one asking him.

He moved to sit at the end of her bed, but she scooted to her right and patted the empty left space for him. _Someone that beautiful should not be so far away from me. Geez Arya. You've spoken to him twice and have only been awake for 2 days, are you a sleezeball or what._

Gendry interrupted her mentally chastising herself when he sat down next to her on the bed, shoulder to shoulder.

"Yeah. It was at a fair that our high school threw every autumn as a sort of welcome back for all the students and faculty. I was a junior and had never gone to one before that one. You were a freshman and I bumped into you," he paused, unsure if she'd want to hear about how they went at each others throats immediately without really knowing the other. He decides that it's the foundation of their friendship and she deserves to know. "We just started arguing about staying out of each others way, you being too short and me being too tall." 

Arya's eyes widened,"Too short? I'm not so sure I like you very much anymore Gendry." She joked. He smiled.

"Anyways, one thing lead to another and we reached an understanding. On our first day of school you made it perfectly clear that I was going to be your friend, much to my approval."

"So you're 2 years older than me?"

"Yup."

"So you're 26? I'm 24, I believe. That's what my chart says on Doctor Luwin's clipboard. Is that right?" She asked, suddenly aware that there were a few small things about herself she didn't know but should at the very least.

"Yeah, you're 24."

"Neat. How did we manage to hang out if we were 2 grades apart."

He looked at her with something hidden in his gaze, thinking back on the very words she said to him on their first day of classes, "You're a math and science whiz and had a lot of upperclassmen classes. I was lucky enough to be in half of them."

He smiled at her sincerely and reached over and grabbed her hand. 

She smiled down at their joined hands and it did not go unnoticed by her the jolt of electricity that was sent through her arm at his touch.

"Tell me more about how we met." She said softly.

_Now's the time,_ "As you wish, m'lady." _Perfect._

* * *

After Gendry spent more time bonding with Arya and letting her get to know him all over again, he knew it was time to say goodnight.

"Well, I should leave you to rest. It's getting late."

Arya nodded in agreement, although he swears he could see her mood deject slightly at him suggesting his departure.

"I'll see you tomorrow again though, right?" Her voice was so hopeful, he felt his heart rip out at the prospect of leaving her tonight.

"Of course you will. It might be a little later than usual. I have to go to the shop that I told you I run, see how they've been holding up without me."

"Sounds good. Tomorrow then." She smiled.

_And everyday after that_ he thought to himself.

"Tomorrow," he smiled back, "Goodnight Arya. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight Gendry. Sweet dreams yourself." She laughed. He shook his head and laughed quietly before stepping out of the room.

He went outside and saw that Sansa and Theon as well as Ned and Cat had lingered outside of Arya's room.

"Everything well?" Sansa asked. He nodded.

"Said goodnight and let her know I'd be back tomorrow."

"What did you guys talk about? Anything _good?_ " Theon wiggled his eyebrows.

"We just spoke about the first time we met, our friendship, what I do for a living."

"Does she know you guys are, what's the word again, oh yeah, _engaged?_ " Theon asked, clearly hoping he had.

"We didn't get to it. She doesn't know we're together yet. I sort of chickened out and also got heavily distracted what with our tiny stroll down memory lane when we were kids. Plus she didn't particularly ask anything in regards to our relationship." Gendry defended earning him a look of exasperation from Theon, "For what it's worth, I think she recognizes that she feels _something_ for me." 

"You should have told her!" Theon says, earning him a slap to the shoulder from Sansa.

"Hey!"

"Theon, we can't rush or pick what Gendry decides to tell Arya. She's still remembering and recovering." Sansa explains.

"Alright, fine I guess." Theon mumbles, "I'm only getting this way cause I think it could really help and I want you guys to be happy. And you've been a grumpy arse for way too long." He finishes smiling at the end. 

Gendry's face fell before he smiled back at Theon, shaking his head. "Thank you Theon, I'll tell her soon. I promise."

Theon nodded happily at that. Gendry looked around him as if noticing for the first time it's just the five of them. 

"How come you guys are all out here?" 

"We were speaking to Doctor Luwin and also coming to get you to let you know we were about to head out." Ned answered.

"Where are the others?" He asked to no one in particular.

"They're all stretching and getting themselves together in the waiting room before we leave for the night." Ned explained, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I should probably head back to mine and Arya's place. Nymeria was so excited when I came home last night, a little less excited than if I would've had Arya by my side, but excited still. I think two and a half weeks of Hot Pie is more than enough for her."

They all laughed at that before straightening themselves out again and turning to head to the waiting room and leave with the others. Theon stopped short, causing everyone to turn and look at him.

"I forgot to say goodnight!" Theon explained, putting a hand over his heart as if to say he'd die if he didn't say goodnight to Arya.

Gendry laughed, "Knock yourself out."

"Make it quick, Theon, we'll be out in the waiting room." Sansa said. Theon nodded, leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

"See you in a bit." And then he was opening the door to Arya's room.

* * *

"Hey there, liar." Theon laughed at the new name before saying hey back, "Is something the matter?" She asked.

"No I just came to say goodnight."

"Oh."

"At least that's what I told our family out there." Theon said mischievously.

Arya laughed at his expression,"What are you here to really do then?"

"I'm here to talk to you about Gendry."

Arya's eyes widened, not really understanding why Theon would want to talk about Gendry with Arya.

"Okay. What about Gendry?"

"How do you feel about him?"

"What?" Arya's cheeks were turning pink and she was undeniably grateful for the dim lighting of the room. 

"How do you feel about Gendry? Tell me as quick as you can, I'm sort of on a time crunch her, short stack." He said the nickname with nothing less than affection.

"He's nice. I like him."

Theon's face fell, "That's it?"

"What? I don't know exactly what I'm supposed to say. You've sort of ambushed me here."

"How do you feel? How does your heart and your body react to him whenever he's here?"

Arya took a moment to really assess what she felt around Gendry and every direction lead her to the same conclusion. She felt good around him. She didn't feel entirely like somebody who just lost her memory. She felt safe and warm. She was certain that whoever he was, he loved her and she's felt it all the times she's seen him.

There's also the quickening of her pulse whenever she caught him looking at her while he thought she wasn't looking these past two days. The way anytime their eyes would meet she felt her heart race and her mind send her all these thoughts about how beautiful he was and how nice it must feel to touch him.

"I like him. I think I really like him. But I don't know why." She answered honestly.

_I think you really love him, but one bridge at a time Greyjoy._ Theon thought to himself. He nodded at Arya, overall satisfied with her answer, _I can work with really like._

"I think you should tell him." Theon said.

"What?"

"Tell him! Come on strong, he'll love it." Theon side, smiling big. He looked at the time on the clock on the wall, "Oh shit, I've gotta go. But think about it. Goodnight Arya, sleep well and remember us all soon, it's a pain sulking with all these Starks." He smiled.

She laughed, snapped out of her thoughts by Theon's unapologetic jests,"Goodnight Theon. See you soon."

"You know it, short stack." He laughed before leaving Arya to her thoughts.

_Come on strong, he'll love it._

* * *

The next night passes, and Arya found herself dreaming over words Sansa and Jon said to her, but not enough to rattle anything. Not yet. But the next day is far better than the last. 

"Are you excited, Arya?" Doctor Luwin asks her.

"For what?" She asked, unsure of what she's meant to be excited about.

"You're going home tomorrow." He tells her easily.

"Oh! Right, I forgot. See what I did there?" She laughed. 

Doctor Luwin laughed, enjoying how despite it all, Arya was still underneath the surface and her sense of humor was still very much in tact.

"Yes I see. Your family's here. Who do you want to see first?"

"Robb." She smiled.

"Robb it is." 

* * *

"I feel unbelievably honored that you wanted to see me first on this fine afternoon." Robb said, completely posh causing Arya to laugh.

"How are you?" She asked him.

"I'm alright, meant to be heading up to Winterfell in a week."

"Sounds fun, anybody going with you?"

Robb doesn't mention that the rest of their family is meant to be going with them or that she's already supposed to be there and that it's for her wedding as much as it is to go back home to his wife and kids, so he just shrugs instead.

"Anybody that wants to come with me I suppose. The entire lot of you except for Mum and Dad live here in King's Landing."

"Even Rickon?"

"University." He answers as explanation. Arya nods in understanding.

"You, mum and dad have been here the entirety of nearly 3 weeks in King's Landing, even though you're all meant to be in Winterfell?" She asks, her voice soft.

"We weren't going to leave you." Robb sits next to her and holds her hand in his."You're my baby sister."

Arya finds that in moments like this one, she hates it more than anything to not have her memory back, so she just smiles warmly and squeezes Robb's hand.

* * *

"What do you mean where is she going to stay?" Theon asked.

"What do you mean what do I mean? I'm asking where is she going to stay after she gets discharged tomorrow?" Bran said confused.

"She's getting discharged tomorrow?" Theon asked, gaining an eye roll from Bran. 

"Yes, she is."

"Well that's a bit short notice! Did nobody think to tell me? Where is she going to stay?" Theon said dramatically, arms waving all over the place.

"At home obviously." Gendry said, walking in.

"Gendry, my man! How was the shop?" Theon asked, draping a shoulder over Gendry's broad shoulders and struggling only slightly with how tall Gendry is.

"It's fine. Now what's the deal with where Arya's going?"

"Nothing we were just wondering where she would stay, seeing as she knows absolutely nothing useful in regards to your relationship with one another like, gee I don't know, that you live together? You're engaged???" Theon responded.

Gendry huffed and felt a scowl forming on his face,"I'm going to tell her, I told you I would."

"Oh relax, and you better. I have a feeling she'll be wanting to know all about it." Theon said smirking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gendry asked.

"Nothing. Just wait your turn and then you'll speak to her." Theon covered.

_He sure is strange._ They both thought about one another.

* * *

Arya discovered that the more time she spent with her family, the more she felt her heart grow in her chest. She found it wasn't a feeling that would ever stop around her family and she's thankful for it. Each moment spent with them had her wishing more and more that her memory would come to her. 

Robb tells her about how she had only been 6 when she beat him in soccer. He credits it to how tiny, quick and Stark she is. He mentions that he sees so much of her in his two kids, Torrhen and Lailla, and that she didn't believe him at first when he asked her to be Lailla's godsmother.

Sansa was always delicate on the outside every time she would walk into Arya's room, but as soon as she would comfy herself on Arya's bed after sneaking in snacks Arya wasn't supposed to be having, her walls would fall instantly and Arya felt that bonding with Sansa was as easy as breathing and she wonders to herself time and time again if they were ever really at ends with one another.

They talk about how they rebuilt their relationship and about how Sansa and Theon ended up together and about the feelings Arya doesn't know what to call whenever she's near Gendry.

Sansa is always encouraging her to say every thought that comes to her mind, in hopes that she'll say something that'll inspire her memory to come back.

Bran always brings his calming nature with him in each visit and Arya finds it easy to talk about how hard it is to sleep for fear of what she might see next or won't see if she closes her eyes again.

He told her about how close he and her were, despite her always going wherever Robb and Jon went because of how energetic she was bouncing off of walls and how passive and chill he was. He told her about how she stayed by his side every night whenever he would wake up scared that the surgery didn't work and that he lost his ability to walk for good the way he had for half a year. She cried and he hugged her the way he always did when she cried to him.

Jon walks in and she likes it when he does. She tells him she's not sure how she knows, but it's like looking in a mirror. He tells her all about how they went hiking past the Northern Wall together, a common holiday for many people with a taste for adventure, with Gendry, Robb, Sansa, Bran, Rickon and Theon for her 18th birthday and that's where he met Ygritte. 

He tells her about how after he went away to college, she sneakily hid herself in one of the bigger boxes, and after giving him a heart attack when he found her, told him she was going to be moving with him to university whether he liked it or not. She got a flight home to Winterfell and out of Kings Landing for the next day, much to her disapproaval. He also tells her it was the longest that Cat grounded her.

Rickon's excited as always and he tells her all about how even while she was away at university, she spoke to him every single day and managed to be the best wingman even hundred miles apart. He tells her that being the youngest wasn't easy when all his siblings were already grown up, but that she and Bran would always play with him still. He tells her that he knows he's not supposed to have favorites, but she is his.

Her mother and father tell her all about how free and wild she's always been, and how despite anybody's best efforts, there's no taming her and they wouldn't have it any other way. They remind her of her love of life and how it goes hand in hand with her love for her family and how she says the best adventure is only the best when you're with people you love.

Theon reiterates everything he spoke to her about the night before and tells her to come on strong. He tells her how she's the only person he can go to a concert with because no one else listens to what he listens to and that despite their unusual banter, they're as thick as thieves.

He also tells her about how she's the only person to beat him at Mario Kart, and how her secret tricks helped him beat Meera. She tells him not to tell Meera that.

Gendry walks in and stands by the foot of her bed and she's certain now that she doesn't think she really likes him. She does really like him.

* * *

Arya wasn't sure what it was about Gendry, but every time she saw him (all three days and two nights, and like a million times while she was knocked out for two and a half weeks, she just hadn't known it was him.), she felt her heart race and her stomach twist in delightful knots. 

_Who is he?_

She wasn't sure when she'd stop asking herself that question.

Her condition would only worsen whenever he would look at her. She felt her breath catch in her throat and felt like his eyes saw every part of her, the parts she doesn't remember and the parts that even with her memory she's certain she wouldn't know existed in her.

He _saw_ her. All of her. The thought scared her as much as it excited her and that was quite a lot.

_He's beautiful._

_I hope he's mine._ She's not entirely sure where that thought came from, but Arya can't find it in herself to disagree. Memory or not, he brings some type of magic with him. Arya knows a four leaf clover when she sees one and he might just be her lucky charm after all. How else could she explain all these feelings she didn't know she was feeling? Feelings she had always been feeling and she didn't know she was capable of feeling? She doesn't even remember him and already his pull is so strong.

She found that while she spoke to him last night, the day before and today, all she saw was him. She wasn't too keenly aware that she was in a hospital bed outside in a place completely unknown to her. She just saw him. She just took in the slope of his nose, the curve of his jaw, the way his lips quirked up anytime she said something particularly crass and how his eyes crinkled when she made him smile. How deep and rich his laugh was and the smooth edge of his voice. The stubble that painted the lower half of his face and how he'd rub his hand over his jaw whenever she thought she was making him nervous.

_That's a face I wouldn't mind kissing-wait what-what is the matter with me? Get a grip, you've been awake for 3 days Arya. Put a handle on yourself, you knob._

She stared at him enough when they spoke two nights ago and yesterday and she immediately decided that whoever he was, the effect he had on her was profound. And here he stood in her room and she feels that warmth that blooms deep in her heart spread throughout her body and intensify. She decides it's a feeling she rather likes.

"Are you alright Arya?"

She was snapped out of her daze by the look of concern clear on Gendry's face.

"Apart from having no memory, I'm dapper." She joked.

His expression only grew more concerned.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"No it's fine. It's how you usually cope to begin with." He replied shakily.

"Still, it was insensitive. I keep forgetting, ha-" She paused, scolding herself _Are you serious, Arya?_ ,"-that this doesn't only effect me, but the rest of you. I'll do better."

He smiles at her,"You're doing well enough, now I believe you had a bunch of questions to ask me. I know you don't only want to know how we met. Out with it you little rascal." 

She felt her face heating up and let out a breathy laugh. 

_I know who everyone else outside this room is to me. Brother, brother, sister, brother, brother, brother in law, mum and dad. Companions of my siblings. But who are you to me? Are we friends? What are we?_

She feels all these questions rush through her mind and settles on one.

"What are we?" Arya asks. Her eyes are swirling with emotion while she starts sitting comfortably, or as comfortable as you can get in a hospital bed, looking Gendry in the eyes.

"What?" He asked, not really expecting that to be her question right off the bat. _You had a day, two days even, to prepare you asshat._

"Before I lost my memory and ended up in the hospital bed, what were we? What _are_ we?"

_Everything_ , was what he wanted to say. "I'm not really sure if you'll want to know. Like I don't want to scare you away from relearning everything."

"I might not have my memory at the moment, but I'm certain you and I know, or knew for my case, me well enough to know that before this, I wasn't too scared of anything." She had mischief in those big grey eyes of hers that he loved so much and she looked just like she did before she lost her memory and it took everything in him not to lean forward and kiss her.

"Fair point" he paused before debating the risk, he figures because it's Arya, it's well worth it. "Well we were-we are best friends-"

"I'm sure Sansa would disagree with that." She smiled.

He smiled back before continuing,"Then after time, we became more. We're together, you and I. We live together, we take care of Nymeria together-"

"Nymeria?" _Nymeria, come here girl. You are so beautiful._

"Our dog, and boy is she going to be pissed when I tell her you said that." He laughed and she found herself laughing too.

"I'm your person and you're my person. We uh-" should he tell her that they're supposed to be getting married in a week? Is that something you tell the love of your life when they don't know they're the love of your life? "We're family."

She stared at Gendry for a moment before nodding her head,"That explains it then."

Gendry just stared at her for a moment not sure what she meant. 

"Explains what?" He was beyond confused if he's being completely honest.

_How am I supposed to tell him that my body goes haywire when he's near me? It hasn't even been a complete 72 hours? What if he thinks I'm a creep? You probably are a creep. Well, you've lost your memory, not much else to lose is there? Now or never, I guess._

"This is going to sound super corny and all, and potentially very creepy from your stand point, so don't get weirded out, really you should be taking pity on me-"

He gave her a pointed look,"Arya."

She sighed, "Okay, it's like my body remembers what my mind doesn't which makes sense. Doctor Luwin said that it's my mind that's out of rhythm, not my body."

He nodded along pretending he understood an ounce of all the babble she was talking. _I love her babble._

"I'm sure I'll remember everything soon, but for now it's just complete muscle memory."

_Ah, that makes sense. Stupid bull indeed._

"My heart gets all excited and my stomach gets all twisted in knots and for some reason unbeknownst to me, I have found myself over the course of the last few nights and days as well as right now resisting the urge to hold your hand and lean forward and kiss you."

Gendry's eyes widened. _She wants to kiss me? She wants to hold my hand? My hand?_ Gendry felt his heart racing and hope growing in his heart.

"I just wanted to make sure I didn't have some really weird obsessive crush on you and that this was totally mutual."

"I hate to break it to you Arya, but you do have a really weird obsessive crush on me, and we are together completely against my will." Gendry joked.

Arya glared his way, finding the notion entirely natural and wondering if it was something she did towards him often when she still had her memory.

"Oh get over yourself, Gendry." She said, her voice completely full of amusement.

He smiled at her and she guided the conversation back where she wanted it.

"But we live together? Nice. I hope you're the one that cooks. I might not remember but I just have this gut feeling that I don't like to cook."

Gendry just stares at his long time best friend, girlfriend, and fiance with wide eyes and nods with a small smile playing at his lips.

A small laugh escapes him, "I'm mostly the cook, we take turns though. You make a killer lasagna. And a killer boiled water." He jokes at the end.

"Hey! Just because I don't like to cook doesn't mean I don't know how." She pointed out.

"Arya you actually don't know how. Not anymore at least, it's why you're here in this hospital bed. Amnesia by over cooked water." Gendry found that if she could joke about her amnesia, so could he. He gave her a smile that she thinks can steal her breath away ten times over.

She cracks a smile back at him and there's a mischievous glint in her eyes again. _I definitely don't feel bad about wanting to kiss his face right off now. Maybe I should take Theon's advice and come on strong._

"When I get my memory back we are so getting it on." She said it so Arya, so unafraid and nonchalant like a passing comment about the weather and he's just there, wide eyes and choking on air.

Choking on air, he is choking on air and she's laughing at him for it.

"Careful now or you might end up in a hospital bed of your own."

He managed to labor his breathing, "getting it on?"

"Yeah, that's how Theon put it when he was in here earlier."

_Theon fucking Greyjoy, I'll kill you._

Gendry felt a scowl form on his face.

"Easy there."

"Huh?"

"You're scowling." She pointed out.

"You want to get it on?"

"What right now? Geez Gendry, I didn't mean immediately."

"No no no, that's not what I meant-" He sputtered out.

She kept laughing at him. _Are we really sure she lost her memory, cause this feels awfully familiar._

"Relax Gendry. I'm only teasing. But we're really together? Sweet. I sure know how to pick em." She said happily.

Gendry just shook his head in disbelief at her.

"You always manage to surprise me."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I love surprises, especially when they come from you, so I'll let you decide." He answered sincerely.

She felt herself blushing at his words and he felt himself growing proud at having such an effect on her still. 

He wasn't sure if she'd remember him or any of them anytime soon. It was proving to be a little bit harder than any of them anticipated, but he finds he can't be entirely mad at the process of trying to make her remember.

_It's like falling in love all over again._

* * *

The time between bonding with her family and who she now learned is her boyfriend passes like water and all too soon it's time to sleep. 

After the past two nights, Arya promptly decided that sleeping was something she was going to dread doing until she got her memory back, but all the same inescapable and totally necessary. _Here we go._

_"I'm just trying to apologize!"_

_She ran downstairs and out of her room. Avoiding Sansa had become the easiest thing for her to do this past month. She didn't need Sansa, she didn't like Sansa. Sansa was mean. She would pick on her, make her feel unwanted and unwelcome. And to put the cherry on top, Sansa had Jeyne Poole, who seemed to enjoy making Arya feel bad as much as Sansa did._

_Arya didn't need to feed into her behavior anymore she realized. If Sansa wanted Jeyne Poole to be her sister, then by all means. She just wasn't going to pay attention._

_"Arya please! Listen to me!" Sansa followed after her, the both of them now in the living room._

_"That's the beauty of ignoring somebody Sansa, you don't have to listen to them." Arya said before turning around, heading for the kitchen. Sansa grabbed her arm._

_"I'm just trying to apologize!" She said again, with more emphasis. Sharp pain._

_"Apologize for what?" Arya shouted,"Apologize for being cruel or apologize for picking Jeyne Poole over your own sister,_ **_again._ ** _"_

_Sansa looked taken aback by that. Sure, she and Arya had a rocky relationship, they were the only two girls in the family and couldn't be more opposite than the sun and the moon. But the thought, the idea that Arya thought Sansa might love Jeyne more than she loved her never crossed her mind, and how could it? How could she? Sansa soon realized it's because it's the way she made it look, the way she always hung out with Jeyne Poole. The way she always teased, mocked and hurt Arya with Jeyne Poole. But how could she love her more than Arya? Arya, annoying, mischievous and funny little Arya. For all the trouble she caused and all the pain that existed between them, Sansa was nothing short of fond for Arya._

_But she was also horrible. And a fog was lifted because now she was seeing it._

_"Oh Arya. I'm so sorry. So so sorry."_

_Arya's hard eyes were softening around the corners, "You are?" she asked quietly. She never heard Sansa say sorry. Sansa never had anything to be sorry about._

_Sansa nodded, "Of course I am. I've been so unkind towards you."_

_Arya nodded, agreeing with her,"I didn't make it easy."_

_"Still, there's no excusing that I've been a terrible sister, bullying my own family? It's shameful. I'm so sorry." Sansa's eyes became sad._

_Arya nodded, before walking closer to Sansa. Hesitantly, stiffly and on her tip toes, she wrapped her arms around Sansa. Sansa immediately hugged her back. Both girls began crying in the others arms. There was work to be done, but they would do it for the other. They would mend these wounds. They were sisters._

* * *

Arya woke up clutching her chest. She was breathing deep and felt her heart hammering against her chest.

She smiles to herself. "Sansa" she breathes.

And then all at once it's like unraveling a ball of yarn, every piece of string was a new memory rolling out and playing before her.

"Oh my gods."

All of it was rushing through her mind. Her childhood home at Winterfell. Playing soccer with Robb, Jon and Theon. Every fight she ever had with Sansa. Climbing one too many trees with Bran even after their mother scolded them. Finding Rickon under her bed every time they played hide and seek together. Her mother and father swinging her between their arms when she would complain she was still small enough for them to do so. "You'll always be small enough, my sweet." Her father would say.

Every little memory from growing up in Winterfell up until her last summer before high school. 

She remembers, how good that she remembers.

Except for everything else she doesn't remember.

Like becoming friends with Gendry Waters. She doesn't remember how they got together, how on earth could she not remember it?

She remembers everything, except not really.

She remembers her life before Gendry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try not to take so long, but we'll see what happens.
> 
> Be kind. Be good people.


	7. Why'd You Stop At Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya remembers and comes home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully these next few days will really allow me to push through posting these chapters!!  
> Enjoy!!

She was absolutely giddy. She actually _remembered. Perfect timing what with me getting discharged today._

All she could think about were the memories that were held captive from her. Every single moment she shared with her family. _Well, not every moment._ She can't help but still feel a little incomplete. She still doesn't have the memories she's made with people outside of the Stark's. She still doesn't have her memories with Gendry. _Gendry, oh no, oh Gendry._

How can she break it to him? "Hey no big deal or anything but I sort of got my memory back except for anything significant involving you, how convenient hahaha." _No that won't work._

It's like her mind gave her the key to breaking Gendry's heart. _Perfect._

Arya had practically become adjusted to every sound this hospital made and was not at all caught off guard by the knock that came on her door. "Come in!" She'd never been more excited to see someone she remembered. She finds it strange that it somehow doesn't measure up to how excited she becomes when she sees Gendry, _somebody I don't remember._ She shoos the thought away and greets Doctor Luwin as he walks in.

"Good morning Arya, how'd you sleep?" he asked, his voice warm and welcoming.

She smiled at him, unable to contain her excitement,"Pretty well. Better than the last two nights that's for sure." 

"Really? Any reason in particular?" Doctor Luwin asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Just had a really good dream-" He nodded, "Say, Doctor Luwin, you don't happen to still have those x-rays of my left arm after I broke it from climbing the white oak tree with Bran when I was 8, do you?" She asked, her face slowly smiling.

"Of course I do, we keep all of your medical rec-" Doctor Luwin stopped short and looked at Arya with wide eyes.

"How do you remember that?" He asked quietly.

"It was a pivotal point in my childhood. It was the moment I decided I hated white oak trees. I think I'd remember something like that." She said mischievously.

"Arya Stark."

"I remember." She smiled.

Doctor Luwin's face broke out in a grin so big, she could've sworn he was delivering another Stark baby. In a way, that's how it felt. Arya had her memory back.

"You remember?" He asked for confirmation. 

She nodded and began to laugh,"I remember!"

"Okay okay this is amazing, we're going to run some tests on you this morning, I'll go set everything up, and I'll have you explain in full detail everything and everyone you remember. Oh this is amazing, Arya. I was worried for a minute there, it always hurts me to see you and the rest in distress. They're all going to be so happy, the whole lot of them. Ned, Cat, Sansa, Jon, Gendry-"He paused. He did not miss the way she winced when he spoke Gendry's name.

"Arya?"

"Yes?" Her voice was quiet, she knew what he was asking. She made him speak anyway.

"Who exactly _do_ you remember?" He was careful with how he spoke to her.

"My parents, my brothers, my sister. Theon. You."

"Gendry?"His voice was soft. He's seen this before and he doesn't want her to feel guilty for only remembering half way.

She shakes her head and averts her gaze to the floor,"Does that mean I won't ever remem-" He cut her off immediately with a shake of his head and a comforting look.

"Not at all. Just a lot more to unpack and a bit more work to be done between the memories you made once he entered your life. They should all be here by the time we finish running the tests. When they get here, would you like me to tell them you remembered or would you like to?" He asked her softly.

She thought for a moment and realized how much more personal it would feel if she told them she remembered. She also noted how much more it would hurt Gendry if she said she didn't remember him herself. She thinks it's something that can't be avoided, and scared as she may be, she is no coward.

"I'll tell them." She nods her head in affirmation and he smiles at her.

"You are truly a wicked force of nature, little Arya Stark. The greatest force to be reckoned with." Doctor Luwin says fondly. She smiles at him and looks forward.

_I'm not going to let some lousy amnesia ruin anything I might have with Gendry. You're going to have to try harder Universe._

Yeah. Doctor Luwin is right.

She is a force to be reckoned with. 

* * *

It was the same as yesterday, only they were a lot happier than ever. Arya was finally going to get out of the hospital. All the Starks walked in together with a lingering Theon and Gendry in the midst of them.

Arya had long since finished all her testing, showing some more activity in her hippo campus since she'd woken up, a clear cut sign of her memory making it's way back and exercising the muscle as much as possible and the doctors all confirmed she was good to go home today which was enough to have her bouncing off the walls. She was excited to see what her life was like outside of these miserable old hospital walls. Even more nervous but excited all the same to see where she and Gendry lived together. Now all that was left to do was for her to tell them she had _most_ of her memory back and then get the hell out of this hospital that harbored too much of her trying to remember in it.

"Alright Arya, they're ready whenever you are. Want me to send them in?" Doctor Luwin had that same soft look on his face since he found out she got her memory back and Arya is grateful her parents never switched doctors in their entirety of making Stark babies.

"Yes please." Arya said, her voice wavering. She was ready to tell them what she remembered, she wasn't ready to tell them, or _him_ rather, what she didn't remember. She decided that she would tell them altogether that she had remembered, but only to a certain point, so that it didn't feel like an attack. 

Doctor Luwin nodded and headed out to go get the others.

Arya found that in this time, she couldn't stop breathing in deep breaths, in a miserable attempt at steadying her heart rate, which surely if she was still hooked up to the heart monitor, would show it going off its rocker.

_It's okay. You remember, since when are you scared of telling anyone anything? He won't resent you, why would he? You're not choosing to not remember him._

The door opened and they were all undeniably happy to see her in regular clothes instead of a white hospital gown, her brown hair down and around her face, framing it in a way that made her look like the little girl whose memory's she has and only that. 

As they all littered inside, she couldn't help but notice just how many of them there were. _Have we always been this large of a family?_

They all circled around the bed she was sitting on and Sansa went to sit on her left side, Jon on her right while Rickon sat in the chair opposite her bed and the others just stood. Bran and Cat were talking with one another about how he wouldn't be allowed to drive back home after breaking the speeding limit on their way to the hospital.

Jon and Sansa were leaning over Arya's back to exchange knowing glances as Robb and Theon got in an argument over whether they'd be going to eat at 'The Brotherhood Grill' or at 'Dornish Delicacies'. After a stern look from Cat and two exasperated eye rolls from Gendry and Rickon, the pair of them stopped arguing.

"You ready to go home. short stack?" Theon asked her from where he stood in between Ned and Robb.

Arya nodded happily before glaring at Theon after she caught the end of his question. Before she could stop herself, "How many times have I told you not to call me short stack?" 

She said it with so much conviction, so much Arya Stark, you probably wouldn't even realize she had lost her memory at all to begin with.

Her eyes widened as she realized she had let it slip that she got her memory entirely in a way she didn't want to tell them.

Whatever secret conversations were being had or chatter on the side immediately ceased and just like that, all their eyes were on her, wide and hopeful and not entirely believing that those words left her mouth.

"How do you know you hate being called short stack? I called you short stack 2 nights ago and you didn't freak out." Theon said carefully and quietly.

Arya's eyes jumped from one face to the next, each mirroring the last and somehow managing to look more hopeful the more she went on. Her eyes landed on Gendry's who looked like he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. _You'll wish you were dreaming in a minute._

She turned to look at Theon, who was awaiting an answer to his question.

"I didn't freak out two nights ago because I didn't remember how much I hated it two nights ago." She said simply.

"And now?" Sansa asked, grabbing her hand. 

They all leaned forward and it would've been comical if it wasn't at her expense.

"Now I remember." 

Arya wasn't entirely too sure who was hugging her, all she can feel is herself being tackled to a bed, and a lot of weight on top of her, _not even the really good kind- wait what? Get it together, Stark._

"You remember!" Rickon shouted above all the laughs and cheers from Ned, Bran and Cat, the smiles and breathy laughs from Jon and Sansa and the hysterical crying from Robb and Theon.

Whoever was on top of her, Sansa and Jon as well as Theon and Bran she soon realizes, remove themselves upon remembering that her bruised ribs only just recently healed and that maybe pressing all their weight onto her, no matter how happy the situation was, probably wasn't the best idea.

She sits back up and sees them all staring at her, each with tears in their eyes. She looks at Gendry and her heart stops for a solid second, she feels it. She doesn't find it fair that she has to tell him and the rest of them what she's about to tell him when he's looking at her like that. A smile so wide and goofy, her heart breaks in a million different ways. Eyes wide with love and hope and she swears he's about to tell her he loves her because he thinks she remembers him, but she doesn't. _How don't I remember somebody who looks at me like that?_

"Sort of," She starts, and already she sees faces falling. First Robb's, then Rickon's, Sansa's and then. _Gendry._

"What do you mean sort of?" Rickon asks. 

She looks up. _Time to rip the bandage off._

"I remember everything up until high school. I don't really have any recollection of my life once I started high school, which is very unfortunate because-"

"Because me." Gendry finishes, his voice quiet but sharp all the same. It stings.

Arya can't find it in herself to look at him, but she needs to if she wants him to know that she wants to remember him, she wants to remember them. So she meets his eyes and nods softly, hoping her eyes show him she's as heartbroken as he is.

"How is that even possible?" Robb asked from where he was standing.

"Selective amnesia. Strange? Totally. Uncommon? Not at all. It just means the rest of my memory is locked away somewhere, it'll be a little hard to rattle, but everything's still there. I just need the key." Arya explained and she couldn't stand the sinking feeling in her chest the more she looked at Gendry. _I broke his heart._ She finds herself frowning. This was supposed to be good, not all messed up and sad and gloomy and completely distorted.

"So you remember all of us except for Gendry?" Theon asked again.

"I think she's made it perfectly clear she doesn't remember me, mate." Gendry snapped, his voice clipped and his demeanor worsening with every passing second.

"Sorry mate, I was just-"

"It's fine. Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." Gendry sighed, suddenly very aware that this is not the route he should be taking with his family.

"At least you remember something, my love." Cat said cheerfully, placing supportive hand on Gendry's shoulder and squeezing it lightly, an act he appreciated.

"Yeah! What mum said. You remembered something!" Rickon said excitedly. She smiled at him and reached for his hand.

"How did you remember everything?" Jon asked, suddenly curious.

Arya didn't know why talking about this made her more nervous than telling them her memory came back halfway, but she figured nothing could be lost from this.

"A few nights ago, Sansa was here. She was telling me about how things weren't always-" She paused searching for the right word and doesn't know if she'll find one to describe how much she loves her sister,"-they weren't always nice." She finishes.

Sansa winces but grabs Arya's hand,"She was apologizing to me. The way she did it felt so similar, like I was reliving something I didn't know happened. And then last night I had a dream, more of a memory, of when Sansa apologized to me, of when we decided that the fighting was enough and we just wanted to be sisters. I woke up and after that everything-"she winces, cause it's not everything, not really,"-sort of hit me in the face and once I started remembering I didn't stop, until-"

"Me." Gendry finishes again, softer this time. He'd never be mad at Arya for something out of her control. He could be mad at whatever the hell was keeping her from remembering him.

"You." She says softly. Their eyes are locked on one another, each finding it near impossible to break away from the other's gaze.

Robb clears his throat,"Well. I think we should head out now. Arya will head home to-" He pauses, unsure of where home was for Arya at the moment.

"To mine and Gendry's place. That was the plan before, it's still the plan now." She reassures him. He smiles softly at her.

"Alright love. You and Gendry will get yourself settled and then we'll meet you at dinner." Ned speaks and they all start heading out, Arya lingering behind them. She grabs Gendry's arm and pulls him back.

"Arya are you coming dear?" Catelyn asks and she loves it. _I love you, how could I forget you?_

"Yeah mum, I just have to sign some release forms." She answers, and it's technically true, but not entirely why she's staying behind.

Catelyn nodded, sensing the need for privacy between her daughter and would be son-in-law. She closes the door and it's just Arya and Gendry in the room.

Immediately Gendry turns to face her and he realizes as if for the first time that it's actually Arya, healed but not entirely, who he hasn't kissed in 3 weeks and who doesn't remember him.

Arya doesn't know why, but she doesn't care. She wraps her arms around his middle and buries her face in his chest. She feels him stiffen and then relax the more she nuzzles his chest, his arms coming around to envelop her completely in him. She might not remember him, but he's someone she was with before she lost her memory, she's someone she's with now, and she decides that memory or not, his arms are the safest place in the world for her.

He buries his face in her hair, breathing her in the way he wasn't able to when she was laying in that damn bed for 3 weeks. He finds himself growing weaker. _Why couldn't she remember?_

He feels tears building up in his eyes and his body starts to shake and he realizes he's crying in her arms and he'd almost feel sorry about it if it didn't feel so good to let it all out.

She's hugging him as tightly as she can, rubbing his back and letting him know it's okay and she's sorry and she wishes she remembered.

He calms down after a few minutes and they're still in each others arms.

He lets out a shaky breath,"Why'd you stop at me?" He asks, but he's not expecting an answer. He knows she's not in control, which must be driving her crazy because she loves control in all the best ways.

"I wish I didn't." She answers honestly. She doesn't pull away, not yet, not when he's so fragile and so is she. 

He holds on a little longer and she hugs him a little tighter. She wants him to know that she's there and she won't be going anywhere.

They pull apart and Arya immediately recognizes that after hugging Gendry once, it isn't something she wants to stop doing.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Gendry asks after finding his voice again.

"About what?"

"That you're going to come home?" His voice is small and even if she doesn't remember him, she already knows it's not normal for him to be so quiet and small around her.

She looks at him softly and feels her heart ache for the man she's supposed to remember,"Of course I am. Maybe it'll help." She gives him a smile and he can't help but smile back.

"Come on, I'm sure they must think me pretty dense if it's taking this long to sign some release forms." She jests and a surprised laugh escapes him before he nods and holds the door open for her.

"After you, m'lady." 

She's not sure why, but hearing him say that, hearing him say _m'lady_ tugs at her heart strings in the strangest way possible. She's supposed to say something back to him, she knows she is, she just doesn't know what. So just laughs, shakes her head and walks forward before turning to him,"Don't call me that." 

His eyes widen but he quickly realizes she's not remembering, she's just responding the way she always has and the way she always will.

* * *

After a long debate about whether they'd all go straight to dinner after she got to their place or if they'd give her a couple of hours to relax and then head out to dinner, they choose the latter. Ultimately wanting it to be as comfortable as possible for Arya, they decide to let her settle down and become reacquainted with her and Gendry's home.

Her and Gendry drive up around the block in front of their apartment building and Arya feels something very similar to her first dream play over her eyes. Gendry notices from the corner of his eye. He nods at her and grabs her hand giving it a squeeze. There were no drunk drivers to take her away this time.

The others had gone to Theon and Sansa's, opting to give Arya and Gendry the space they had been needing. As Gendry and Arya walk into the building and round the hallway to approach their door, Gendry puts the key in the lock and Arya hears barking on the other side of the door. Before he turns the lock he looks at Arya, a grin working its way to his face.

She's not scared, just a bit nervous. She doesn't remember Nymeria, but she's hoping she will. Arya finds herself smiling back. "Nymeria?" She asks.

Gendry can't stop himself from nodding enthusiastically and he turns the lock and lets the pair of them in.

As soon as she steps in the door she's on the floor with, who she's convinced is the most beautiful dog she's ever seen, hovering over her, nuzzling her face and neck with her nose and licking Arya all over her face, while letting out a few whimpers indicating how much she missed her mother. Arya can't help but hug her and laugh. _Nymeria, here girl. I love you,_ my _brave sweet baby._ This time, she decides not to shake the thought away. 

"Nymeria, easy girl. She just got home." Gendry strokes her and Arya moves out from under her and stands beside Gendry. Nymeria whines and goes to paw at Arya's legs and demand for her undivided attention. Gendry rolls his eyes at how much of a momma's girl his and Arya's dog is.

"It's alright. Do you think she knows?"

"That you don't remember?" He looks at her warily.

She nods shyly.

"If she does, I can't tell. As far as she's concerned, mummy's home." He lets it slip without thinking but he's not sure he regrets it because she's smiling at him and he feels his breath catch in his throat.

Nymeria keeps pushing her head into Arya's side until Arya bends down so Nymeria can make herself comfortable in her embrace.

"I never get a welcome home this grand from her."Gendry mumbles.

"You talking to me, or her?" Arya jokes and Gendry finds himself feeling a little bit better about this whole her not remembering situation. But only a little.

Gendry shakes his head before dropping off Arya's things into their room. He comes back out and finds Arya and Nymeria already comfortable on the couch and he can only find it in himself to laugh lightly and smile.

She doesn't have her entire memory, but she's home.

"So how about a grand tour of the place?" He claps his hands together, and both her and Nymeria look up at the same time in such a comical way, he feels his heart expand in his chest.

Arya smiles and nods excitedly, "Show me our home."

* * *

As Gendry prepares to tour Arya around their 2 bedroom flat, with each room her reintroduces her to, his mind can't help but to show him all the memories they've made here, in _their_ home and he can't help but think how brutally unfair and undoubtedly cruel it is that she remembers none of it. He shakes his head of the thoughts and grabs her hand and pulls her from where she's sitting, on the couch with Nymeria snuggling her legs.

He gestures to the open space in front of them, where a soft blue couch with grey and yellow pillows are littered on top of it, 2 arm chairs opposite one another, a coffee table in the center of the couch and the two arm chairs, a bookshelf in the left corner of the room with books and plants scattered on top and the tv stand with the tv to the right of the shelf, are all displayed,"This is our living room."

Arya gives him a flat look,"you don't say, I was beginning to wonder why there was a couch in here." Arya responds sarcastically. Gendry gives her a withering look.

"Hahaha, oh how you woo me with your sarcasm."

Arya laughs,"Is that why you're with me?"

Gendry looks at her and shakes his head laughing,"Absolutely. I just can't get enough of your unrelenting wit and humor." 

Arya squeezes his hand and that's when he realizes he never let it go. He doesn't think he's going to.

"Show me the rest." She smiles softly.

He smiles back and leads her further out of the living room,"If you turn your head you are met with our kitchen and dining table in front." 

Arya takes the time to observe the kitchen and notices all the photos and post cards hanging on the fridge. First she sees the photo of her and Gendry in what she thinks can be no longer than a few months ago. They're sitting in a pub, his arm wrapped firmly around her waist while her head is thrown back in laughter and he's staring at her with nothing but pure adoration. She feels her heart clench.

Then she sees a photo of her, him, Sansa and Theon where Arya and Sansa are giving Gendry and Theon piggy back rides, all of their faces varying degrees of amused and happy. She unknowingly smiles at the photo. 

She also sees a photo of her, with a baby boy in her arms, and Gendry with a baby girl in his arms, the babies she highly suspects are Robb's children, her niece and nephew. She's smiling at Torrhen while he's pulling at a strand of her hair and Gendry is making a funny face at a laughing Lailla. _That'll be us after next week._

She doesn't know where the thought comes from, or what it even means, or what exactly is meant to be happening next week, so she just shakes it away and decides she'll ask Gendry later if anything's meant to be happening next week. Surely he would know, right?

The next photo her eyes land on she decides hurts the most. It's a photo of her and Gendry in what is very obviously their school uniform when they were way younger and he's hugging her with her feet off the ground, both of them undeniably happy when the photo was taken. She wishes she remembered why they were so happy in that photo, she wishes she remembered why he was hugging her so tightly. She wishes she remembered.

There are more photos of her and Gendry and her parents and Jon and everybody scattered not only on the fridge, but all throughout their flat as he takes her down the hall and shows her the bathroom, where a photo of Gendry with a shower cap and duck floatie around his hips is hanging above the cabinet. Photos of them throughout life and in all these memories she has no grasp of are littered throughout their flat. It feels nice, and she thinks it feels like home.

He leans to his left after they leave the bathroom and opens the door to what she thinks is their bedroom. "This is our room." She's right. She looks around and kept help but wonder about all the memories they've made in here that she doesn't have. _Those must be pretty nice._ She chastises herself. _Can't go one damn second without my mind pulling me into the gutter._

She notices how kept together it is and knows herself to not be this organized so she wonders if it was him."Why's it so tidy?" 

He lets out a bark of laughter and a knowing smile takes over his features. "I'm tidy and you aren't." 

They leave the room and head to the living room before she notices the other room, "Hey what's this one?" 

She's about to open the door before he stops her, "Wait! Don't!" 

She stops immediately from twisting the knob, obviously afraid she's crossed a boundary.

Her eyes are wide and she steps away,"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Her voice is quiet.

He looks at her and immediately regrets stopping her, "No I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just-"

"What's in the room?" she asks softly.

He sighs and heads to open the door,"It was meant to be a gift for you." _Our wedding gift from me to you._

"You don't have to show me, it's okay." She says grabbing his hand.

"No, it's fine. Maybe this will help?" He says hopefully. She nods encouragingly before he turns around and opens the door. 

Immediately her eyes are greeted with the sight of complete and total darkness and red. He pulls her inside quickly and shuts the door behind them.

Her eyes take a moment to adjust, but once they do, they're wide with wonder. Her love for developing film as she remembers is almost entirely sacred for her. _How does he know I love to develop film? He's your boyfriend dummy. That's how._

He's quiet and looking at her, his expression unreadable.

She looks at him hoping he understands what she's asking him silently

"You once mentioned how much you love to develop film. It's actually one of the first things you've ever told me. " He starts off shyly.

He knows how passionate but seemingly shy she is about her photography. He's the only person she ever truly shared it with, because she knew he'd never judge her or misinterpret her photos.

"The dark room studio by our flat got closed down a few months ago and there are no places within 30 miles for you to develop your film. So I've been working on this room for you. Developing film from the comfort of our home." 

She can only manage a nod and before she even realizes what she's doing, she stands on her tippy toes and places a gentle kiss to his cheek.

She can feel his breath on her ear and immediately hears it hitch at the contact her lips made with his skin. 

She likes the way her lips feel on his skin. She likes a lot of things that involve her and him in close proximity.

She leans back and is on flat ground again. "Thank you." She says softly.

He looks at her and all his eyes have in them are love and pain and longing and _gods damn it why doesn't she remember._

He just nods and sends a small smile her way. She smiles back.

_I think I might love him._

* * *

After having gotten settled and a very long and amusing dinner at 'Dornish Delicacies' featuring Theon choking on a cherry stem after attempting to tie it, Robb spilling water in Jon's lap, Bran, Sansa and Rickon placing bets on who Ned and Cat would yell at first, and Arya and Gendry looking at one another all lovesick with secret glances anytime one of her siblings or Theon did something not warranted for a family restaurant, Arya is ready to go home.

She and Gendry say bye to everyone and then head on home. The drive back is filled with their favorite band 'The Night's Watch' playing and Gendry's eyes trained on the road.

"Oh hey, I've been meaning to ask you something." She starts off.

"Shoot." He sends her a grin.

"Is there anything happening next week?" The grin is immediately wiped off his face, now replaced with a funny look.

"What do you mean?" His voice is even, which puts even more emphasis on his uneasiness.

"I was just wondering." She answers honestly.

He could never lie to her. It's not something either of them could ever do, and he feels like not telling her would be even worse than lying.

"Don't freak out okay." He breathes evenly.

"I won't I promise." They're at a stop light and he shoots her a look before he pulls over to the curb and puts the car in park.

"We're engaged-"

"WHAT"

"You said you wouldn't freak out." He frowns. She rolls her eyes at him. He takes her silence as an opportunity.

"And next week is supposed to be our wedding-"

"WHAT!" Her eyes are absolutely wide and her mouth is hanging open and he really wishes he had a camera.

"Yep."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" she asks quietly.

"I don't know. I guess I was terrified of scaring you away. You don't have your memory so springing marriage on you doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do."

She nodded understandingly, "I guess that's fair. You still should have told me though."

"I know. I'm sorry." And he truly is.

"It's okay. So how did I propose?"

He laughs before responding,"I proposed actually. But for what it's worth, you did tell me I should've waited for you to propose."

She laughs and he's certain he'll never hear anything sweeter.

"Alright. Let's go home." She says after she sobers up.

"As you wish, m'lday." He teases and she sends him a playful glare before erupting into a fit of laughter. _Yep. I definitely won't hear anything sweeter than this._

* * *

After she and Gendry got home and got themselves settled and entirely ready for bed, Nymeria having already fallen asleep by the foot of Arya's side of the bed, Gendry felt they arrived at a predicament.

"Okay, so here's the bed. It's really soft and comfy, I think you'll enjoy it-"

"Why are you talking like that?" Arya cut him off.

"Like what?" 

"Like you're not going to sleep in the bed?" Her face was contorted with confusion, forehead wrinkled up and he wanted so badly to kiss away each and every one of those wrinkles.

"I thought you might want me to sleep on the couch." He answered.

"Why would I want that? We're literally engaged, Gendry." Her confusion was deepening and he doesn't think he's ever seen her this rattled and on the brim of annoyance since they were in high school and Jeyne Poole-

"Gendry?" She interrupted his train of thought.

"Oh I don't know, I just wasn't sure if you'd want to sleep in the same bed as me, what with you not remembering me yet." He's very careful to add the yet.

"I might not remember you, but I remember how I feel about you. I trust you and feel safe with you. Besides, it's just sleeping." She reassures him softly, reaching out for his hand. He grabs her hand, shuts the light off and lets her lead him to bed.

He makes himself comfortable on his side and she does the same.

Gendry hasn't slept well since she was in the accident. In fact, he only just started sleeping regularly the last 2 nights. But already he knows this is about to be the best sleep he's had in three weeks. 

There's a small space between them, and immediately Arya recognizes that the source of warmth she had been searching for in her sleep every night at the hospital was laying right next to her. Timidly she moves closer to him and decides that she's searched long enough for this source of warmth. She cautiously drapes her arm over his torso and Gendry feels his heart speed up. He doesn't hesitate to pull her closer. His arms encasing her over his broad upper body. Her head is on his chest and she can hear his heart and she loves that it's beating just for her.

"Goodnight Gendry. Sweet dreams." She whispers.

He hesitates for a moment before he kisses the top of her head,"Goodnight Arya, sweet dreams." He speaks back just as softly.

He thinks she's fallen asleep, _she always falls asleep first._ "I love you." He whispers.

He falls asleep shortly after, but not before he feels a smile against his chest. 

_She might not remember, but she loves me too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be kind. Be good people.


	8. I Want Every Up And Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya's past keeps revisiting her and she's unsure of what it means.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go!!

It had been 2 days since she was discharged from the hospital and living at home with Gendry. Settling into a rhythm with him was unsurprisingly easy.

The hard parts would be when she did something that made her head hurt like she was trying to see something her mind didn't want her to see.

The hard parts would be when Gendry looked at her with pain in his eyes, because as much as they were bonding and Arya was learning all about him all over again, it hurt to know there was a point where she knew every single thing about him, and now they're starting from scratch.

The hard parts would be when she remembered something or someone that wasn't him and he just wanted to know how damn selective her amnesia was because honestly, it was ridiculous. Hot Pie? He gave her his chicken pot pie and she remembered him the second the browned buttered bread hit her taste buds. Really, honestly, how does she remember Hot Pie and not remember him? They grew up and went to KLU together for seven's sake!

She would joke that by the time she got her memory back, she would love him enough for two people. He would laugh and then scowl, making her laugh even more. He could never stay mad.

Most of their time in these three days is spent with him showing her around the neighborhood of their flat, all the places they love to go and where they get takeout from, their go to date night spots and the park they take Nymeria to in the mornings, evenings and when they're together, on the weekends.

Arya loves every last second of it, slipping very effortlessly into the easiness of being with Gendry. He tells her about all the places they've traveled and have yet to travel and she just knows that he's meant to be her family.

It doesn't feel like she's living with somebody she doesn't remember because Gendry is patient with her when something happens that reminds him of the past but reminds her of nothing. Gendry is gentle and kind, always making sure she's okay and putting his anger for the situation (which is a lot) to the side so that she's comfortable. Gendry is funny and makes new jokes with her so that she won't feel left out of any inside jokes he has with her and her siblings. Gendry is strong and she knows that if there's anyone strong enough to handle watching someone they love not remember them, it's him. Gendry is Gendry, and she's certain she loves every single inch of him.

* * *

On her third day back home, she tells him to take her on a date.

"What?" He asks, mouth hanging open and remote control dropping to the floor.

She rolls her eyes at him,"You heard me, Gendry."

"A date? You want to go on a date with me?" He really can't believe his ears and she really can't believe how stupid he is.

As if the first time didn't make a point, she rolls her eyes extra hard, "Gendry we live together, we're engaged! This is the bed thing all over again."

Gendry lets out a laugh like he can't quite believe it,"I know all that Arya, I just. It's different, alright? You don't remember everything so apart of that might be how much you love going out with me." His voice gets quieter at the end and she feels her face soften.

"It's not apart of it. I promise." She assures him gently. He looks at her sitting in the arm chair across from him and smiles. She can't resist smiling back.

"Let's go on a date." He says more sure of himself.

And so they do.

* * *

"It's just completely unrealistic that within the short span of a few weeks she just flips a switch and turns on everybody! That movie was total crap." Arya says on their drive back home from a very eventful date.

He had wanted to take her to dinner somewhere nice, with a nice long walk along the piers in Kings Landing. Arya had something much more Arya in mind, whether she knew it or not. First, they went to the arcade where after beating the highest score on 'Valyrian Conquest', Arya claimed her prize, a plush acorn pillow with a silly face on it, and gave it to Gendry. He thinks he felt his heart stop.

Then, they went out to their favorite pub that was owned by Davos, Gendry's adoptive father. Davos had never been happier to see Arya especially with how much her memory appeared to be weaving its way through her mind, whether she realized it or not.

After that, she let Gendry pick where they went next, not trusting herself to lead them somewhere they had no intention of being, so here they were at the end of the movie 'Fire and Blood:Resolution' the final installment to Gendry and Arya's (from when she remembered at least) favorite movie series.

"I guess anything really sells. For what it's worth, I completely agree. I mean how cliche, she's on the verge of getting everything she's been fighting for and then up and out of nowhere just abandons all her morals and goes haywire. Makes no sense." Gendry shook his head, "She deserved better and her character development throughout this franchise deserved better." 

"You're telling me, Gods, it's like the last four movies didn't even happen." Arya scrunched up her face.

Gendry laughed while nodding in agreement, "Yeah I totally a-" Gendry paused, eyeing her curiously. She didn't seem to notice and if she did, she didn't mind,"Do you remember the last four movies?" Gendry asked cautiously.

Arya met his wondrous gaze with one of her own,"I'm pretty sure I do. Why?" Arya was a bit confused by the question. Gendry shook his head.

"No reason. Just wanted to know. Sorry." He smiled down at her. She smiled back.

"Nothing to apologize for. It's no biggie." She laughed and he joined in her laughter, _oh it is biggie. It's super biggie._ The last four installments of the 'Fire and Blood' film franchise Arya had only seen with Gendry back when she had her memory. Surely if she remembered the movies she would've had to remember that, right?

_Is she remembering and not even realizing it?_

* * *

After picking up takeout and driving back home, they're outside their building and Arya's waiting for Gendry to get his keys out of his pocket so they can head into the nice warmth of their home and into the soft arms of their baby Nymeria when the thought hits Arya.

"So, apart from us about to head upstairs to devour this heavenly Braavosi takeout, would this be the conclusion of our date?" Arya asks with eyes that have mischief hidden in the depths of them. 

Gendry looks down at her before a look crosses his face,"I guess so, yeah. I don't know how much of a conclusion this will be since we live together though. Why?"

Arya just smiles to herself,"No reason." Gendry looks at her funny before turning away to open the door. He opens the front door and after they head upstairs, opens up the door to their flat and takes note of a sleeping Nymeria not too far from the door. He sets the takeout down on the table, turns around and notices Arya on the other side of the door still.

"Something the matter? Why haven't you come in yet?" Confusion working its way into every corner of his face.

He takes 3 long strides forward before he's standing in front of Arya again.

"Arya? What's wrong?"

Arya looks up at his face, leans into him while wrapping her arms around him and dropping her hands at the base of his neck and he forgets how to breathe. _How can someone so divine be mine?_

"What's wrong is that we've reached the end of our date, you walked me to my door and you still haven't given me my goodnight kiss yet."

All Gendry can manage to do is let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "A kiss?" His voice was breathy and disbelieving and it made Arya feel warm inside.

She nods, tilting her face up towards his, hoping he'll meet her halfway,"We're engaged Gendry, I'm sure we've done a lot more than kissing."

Gendry's eyes widen but he finds himself smiling, wrapping his arms around her waist before meeting her there, placing his lips over hers and kissing her soundly the way he's been wanting to kiss her since she woke up.

It's not what she expects, no, it's way better than that. His lips are smooth and soft and she can't help but wonder if they were made just for her. She also can't help but wonder how good they might feel all over the rest of her body.

His lips move over hers and he finds one of his hands working its way into her hair while the other rests on the small of her back, keeping her close to him. It's everything he knew he wanted and more. _I've missed this._

It doesn't go unnoticed by Arya how familiar this feels, how _right_ it is. She doesn't remember their past but _this,_ she remembers this.

They break apart when air becomes absolutely necessary, resting their foreheads against one another.

They breathe the same air, both their eyes closed, identical smiles plastered on both their faces.

"Goodnight?" Gendry breathes. Arya lets out a laugh before slapping his shoulder.

"Goodnight." She stands on her tippy toes and pecks him on the lips softly once more before settling on the ground, "Now lets go eat some takeout."

Gendry grins from ear to ear, _Gods I love you._

* * *

Another day passes and it doesn't go unnoticed by Gendry that 2 days after tomorrow, it'll be their wedding day. He decides that as much as it must be weird stepping into a life you know nothing about, the not knowing just might kill him. So when she gets home later that night from hanging out with Theon, Bran and Meera, he speaks to her about it.

He hears her struggling to open the door to their flat, the keys jingling, a clatter of metal hitting the ground and Arya cursing for not knowing how to unlock their apartment door yet. Sad as it may be, he finds the situation all too endearing. He stops himself from opening the door for her, knowing she'd be angrier at him for not letting her try/screw up a few more times before ultimately ringing the doorbell. 

He's already standing in front of the door when he hears that familiar _ding dong_ and promptly opens the door with arms open wide ready to hug her. She glares at him before smiling and throwing herself into his embrace.

He's entirely too grateful that despite her lack of memory she still trusts him and is still as comfortable with him as she always has been. He kisses the top of her head before they pull away and he swings the door shut behind her.

After she sets her things down and changes into pajamas, she heads to the living room where he's waiting, visibly anxious about having the conversation he's about to have with her.

She sits down next to him and Nymeria comes trotting in from the kitchen and makes herself comfortable on Arya's side, putting her head in her lap.

"You okay Gendry?" He almost laughs at the question before he realizes Arya's the one asking it.

Was he okay? If you don't count the fact that the love of his life doesn't remember him and he's meant to be getting married to her in three days, then yes, he's probably the most okay on the whole damn continent.

He looks at Arya and tries to calm his nerves. There's no need to worry her more than he thinks he has.

"I think we should talk about what's happening, or supposed to be happening in three days." His voice is even but gentle and he hopes she understands what he's talking about.

"What's supposed to be- oh."

"Yeah."

"What about it?" She's not sure what exactly they have to talk about in regards to their wedding. She just assumed they'd put it off until she got her memory back. It seemed like the obvious solution.

"I just-okay I don't really know what to say. I just wanted to know where you stand on the whole situation I guess." Of course he wants to marry Arya, but Arya doesn't have her memory back and he doesn't know how right it'll feel for either of them to go through with it yet.

"I just sort of assumed that we'd have it postponed until I get my memory back."

Gendry nodded in agreement,"Yeah I think that's best." His voice sounded a little sad and Arya couldn't exactly blame him. 

Talking about their wedding made something bloom in her heart, she wasn't entirely sure. She just knew that he means a great deal to her and she already loves what she knows about him. 

She leans over and kisses his cheek,"I'm sorry."

He looks at her completely in awe,"Arya, you have nothing to be sorry about. None of this is your fault."

She nods glumly,"I know but they're my memories, and it seems like every force is against me remembering."

"Whatever it is, we'll beat it together." He says hopefully, trying to convince himself as much as Arya.

Arya smiles and is about to agree when the thought strikes her out of nowhere,"Where's my engagement ring?"

Gendry's eyes widen.

"What?"

"Unless you proposed without one, which is still pretty rad."

"No no I gave you a ring. I'll go get it right now."

He got up from the couch and headed towards their bedroom while she stared off after him, absentmindedly stroking Nymeria's head.

Arya takes this time to think about what her engagement ring might look like. From what she remembers about herself, she doesn't hate jewelry, she's just not flashy with it so she wonders how Arya this ring is.

She's taken out of her thoughts when Gendry appears in front of her again with a little black velvet box in his hand.

She's looking up at him, excitement and curiosity evident in her eyes.

He smiles down at her before furrowing his brows,"I just wanted to be clear, we're still engaged right?"

Arya laughs and nods her head,"Yes. Until I get my memory back at least."

Gendry's face shifts to a concerned look,"Why until then?"

Arya has to laugh at how stupid he could be sometimes and rolls her eyes,"Because then we'll be married, duh." 

Gendry exhales and smiles softly at her before dropping to the ground on his knees so that they're eye to eye.

He opens up the box and her eyes widen and she gasps softly, bringing a hand up to her mouth. It has to be the most beautiful ring she's ever seen and somehow entirely her. The ring is a silver band with a grey pear stone at its center and three small diamonds adorning each side. She feels tears brimming in her eyes.

Gendry thinks he feels his chest tighten at her reaction. The scene feels all too familiar to Gendry.

_Gendry doesn't get nervous. Not really. Not unless Arya's related. Then he's a sputtering mess and his nerves are all over the place. She won't even have to do anything and he finds himself tripping over his words. He feels that this time though, he has a reason to be nervous._

_"Gendry you aren't going to believe the bullshit call the umpire just made! I swear the Casterly Lion's must have paid big bucks to play in the world series this year cause this is absolute horse shit." He hears her shout from the living room._ _He had the ring for at least a year now and had been waiting for the right moment to propose. He decided that right now in the comfort of their home while t_ _hey were in the middle of watching the Stags vs. the Lions in the Westerosi World Series and eating takeout was it._

_He grabs the black velvet box and holds it in his fist, walking out of their bedroom with one purpose and one purpose only. He walks forward and slows down when he's in front of her._

_"Do you want me to go back so you can see how much of a-" The words died on her tongue when she saw Gendry lower himself on one knee in front of her and holding the box out in front of him._

_"Gendry..." Her voice was soft and breathless and was dripping in disbelief._

_"Arya. We've been best friends for 9 years and we've been together for five of those years. I didn't know meeting you would turn my life up on its head in all the best ways possible. But it has, and I wouldn't take back a single moment. I love you more than I ever thought was humanly possible but it makes sense because it's you and every impossible thing always seems possible when I have you by my side," He grabs one of her hands in his and kisses her knuckles, not breaking eye contact for a single second. Her eyes are wide with love and wonder,"I can't imagine going through life with anybody else and I don't want to. I want every up and down with you. All the miserable days with the even better days. Braavosi takeout and darts at Davos'. Me, you, Nymeria and whoever else is lucky enough to join our pack, for now, for tomorrow, forever."_

_Arya let out a shaky laugh. He opens the box to reveal the ring he spent months saving up to buy for her. She gasps soflty and her eyes widen. She puts a hand over her mouth and tears spill from her eyes._

_"Arya. Will you marry me?"_

_Arya's nodding her head and he slides the ring on her finger and it fits perfectly._

_Arya lunges forward, tackling Gendry to the ground and wrapping her arms around him. She peppers his face with kisses and he lets out a laugh._

_"Yes yes yes!! I'll marry you, of course I'll marry you."_

_He's laying on the ground and she's on top of him. She leans away and he pushes her hair to the side._

_"I didn't quite catch that. Was it yes?" he says, a playful look on his face._

_Arya rolls her eyes at him before her eyes soften and she leans down and presses her lips to his softly._

_"Always yes." she says gently. His blue eyes gaze into her grey ones and he's certain that whatever's waiting for him in the afterlife won't ever compare to this._

"It's beautiful." Arya's voice snapped Gendry out of reliving one of his favorite memories of theirs. A memory she hasn't seen yet.

Gendry looks at her,"Yeah, it is."

Arya looks hesitant before she speaks again,"Can I, um, can I wear it?"

Gendry stares at her in disbelief,"Of course you can wear it! It's your ring Arya."He laughs. She smiles at him.

Gendry takes the ring out of the box and slides it on her finger and he feels his heart stop and hears her breath hitch.

"Like a glove." He says.

Arya nods and leans forward to kiss him on the lips. When she pulls away she sees longing in his eyes.

"Thank you for being patient." She says honestly.

He looks at her before smiling sadly, "I want every up and down." 

* * *

Arya thinks she has the layout of her and Gendry's neighborhood down, even better, the layout of the city. So while Gendry is finishing up at work she decides to take Nymeria for a walk, hoping he'll be home by the time she gets back. She doesn't expect to see anybody she doesn't already know. Or better yet, anybody she _does._ And yet here she is, walking towards Arya with that same shit eating grin that would plaster itself on her face whenever she saw tears in Arya's eyes.

It really shouldn't surprise her. The universe has a funny way of making Arya Stark its main target for entertainment. 

She could turn around and just pretend she never saw Jeyne Poole in Kings Landing, in _her_ neighborhood, in _her, Gendry and Nymeria's_ park. But that would be the cowards way out. and by all the gods, Arya Stark is no coward.

So she keeps walking in the direction she had meant to walk in. If she's lucky, Jeyne won't stop her. But Gendry isn't with her so she doesn't feel all that lucky.

"Well well, if it isn't little miss Arya Stark. Funny seeing you here." Jeyne's voice sounds the same, it rings the same bells in her head and all Arya can hear is _Arya Horseface._

"Not sure what's so funny seeing me at a dog park where I'm walking my dog." Arya doesn't miss the way Jeyne's chihuahua is small and vicious, just like Jeyne.

"I just haven't seen you in a while is all I mean."

Arya nods her head,"What brings you to Kings Landing anyways?"

Jeyne eyes Arya carefully before deciding she'd gain nothing from lying to her,"Checking in on the branches of the company I work for, one of them is located in Kings Landing, but I should be back home in the Riverlands in a few days though."

Arya nods in understanding, thankful that this will be the only time she ever has to see Jeyne Poole again. She thinks she might be wrong about Jeyne, maybe she has changed. Maybe adulthood has changed her for the better. Or maybe not, because Jeyne is opening her mouth again.

"Gods, I think the last time we saw each other was high school, when all that stuff happened with me, you and Gendry. Do you remember that?" Jeyne had some hidden snarkiness behind her tone and finishes her sentence with a sneer, and it doesn't go unnoticed by Arya. _She knows I don't remember. Gods damn faceless book._

If Jeyne thinks she's winning, Arya has something else coming her way,"Not entirely, in fact I barely even remember you," Jeyne's eyes widen, taken aback by Arya's response. It's not entirely a lie, really. She only remembers Jeyne from when she was 7 up until she was 14. Seven years worth of Jeyne surely can't compare to an enitre decade of her. Before Jeyne has the chance to respond, Arya's speaking again,

"All the better for me though, right? I mean, if I don't remember you, must mean you're not somebody worth remembering." Arya doesn't waver once and she isn't all that surprised that after more than 10 years, Jeyne Poole is still the same mean girl she was when they were kids.

Jeyne doesn't resist narrowing her eyes at Arya,"You might not remember me Arya, but I'm certain _somebody_ does." Jeyne is certain that whatever Arya says next won't gain her the upper hand. Much like the last five minutes of their conversation, Jeyne is wrong.

"That somebody wouldn't happen to be my fiance Gendry, who should be getting home any minute now, would it?"

Jeyne's glare falters and she's not sure if Arya is joking or not,"what?"

"What what?" Arya's certain her smirk is going to crack her face in half.

Jeyne quickly schools her features, hoping not to give away any indication that she doesn't know how to tick off Arya Stark the way she used to,"Just hadn't realized you and Gendry were engaged was all." 

"We are and like I said before, he should be home any minute now, so I really should get going. It was nice catching up. Have a nice day, try not to ruin any lives."

Arya leaves Jeyne in the middle of the park, entirely satisfied with leaving Jeyne Poole who tormented her, Jeyne Poole who made her insecure, Jeyne Poole who didn't know Arya as well as she thought she did, speechless. 

She goes home and keeps it to herself, just wanting to work on remembering Gendry before focusing on Jeyne, as if she'd ever worry about her before Gendry.

Arya's certain things are looking up and standing up to Jeyne Poole might have been proof of that, but as she gets ready for sleep that night, she can't ignore the nagging in the back of her mind that's worried all about what Jeyne might have meant about what happened between the two of them and Gendry.

She pushes the thought away and snuggles closer in Gendry's arms, hoping that these thoughts won't interfere with whatever rebuilding she's been trying to do.

* * *

Arya isn't sure what it is about her dreams and why they're always trying to tell her things, but she ultimately decides she doesn't like this one. She doesn't get it. She already has this memory, why does she have to relive it in her sleep?

Sleep is where she's meant to be escaping the hardships of the real world. Sleep is where she doesn't have to think about anything else.

It's what she would do when she was younger and Jon and Robb would be out with friends, Bran and Rickon would be in after school and Sansa and Jeyne always there to torment her. She didn't want to be tormented, so she would go to sleep instead.

Now here she is, 24 and sleeping in Gendry's arms, his embrace warm and gentle. It should feel like pure bliss. So why in seven hells is she dreaming about Jeyne Poole?

Ever since she got her memory of life before high school back and having visited Winterfell with Gendry where her emotions were all over the place, that deep rooted insecurity of Arya horseface has been trying to rise the surface, but memory or not, Arya won't let it. Not while she's 24 and meant to be happy and very clearly, whoever she was, she was incredibly happy in her life.

Sansa said she and Jeyne weren't friends anymore, surely there had to be a reason. There was no need for Arya to feel insecure, there never was. And yet her she was, trying to dream in peace.

Her mind won't let her.

* * *

Gendry feels her moving and without the intention of doing so, she wiggles out of his embrace. He feels cold without her in his arms. He hears her sob quietly and his eyes snap open immediately. If he wasn't wide awake before, he sure is now.

He turns to his side and sees that her eyes are still closed. He saw the clock read 4:15 in the morning. He'd have to be up to go to the shop in two hours but he can't bring himself to care and worry himself with going back to sleep. Not when Arya was next to him and crying in her sleep.

She shifts back over to him and clutches tightly at his shirt, crying still.

He feels his heart breaking at the sight and sound of her in distress and gently shakes her,"Arya, love. Arya please wake up. It's alright, you're just dreaming, I'm here." He says softly.

Her breathing begins to even out and her eyes slowly open. She rubs away any tears and tiredness she has in them and turns to see Gendry perched up on his elbow looking down at her, concern and worry etched into every corner of his handsome face.

"Are you alright?" He asks her.

She clears her throat and sits up, leaning against the headboard. He quickly follows suit.

"Yeah, I was just having a bad dream is all." She responds.

"Do you want to talk about it?" His voice is gentle and caring and if she didn't know it before she definitely knew it now that she could tell him anything, talk to him about anything.

She nodded her head but found it hard to speak.

"Take your time," He squeezes her hand,"I'll go make you some tea."

She smiles at him and nods in response. He gives her hand another squeeze before bringing it up to his face and placing a kiss to her knuckles and then getting up and heading to the kitchen.

This seemed so natural, so right. Looking back at her memories of herself in her adolescence, she wonders if little Arya would be shocked to find out she was engaged. She wasn't perverse to the idea of being with someone when she was younger, she just never understood why anyone would ever want to. She also never thought anyone would ever want to _with_ her, an idea that was drilled into her mind by Jeyne Poole.

But here with Gendry, and his gentleness and kindness and love, she understands it. And she's more than grateful to have someone that wants her as much as she wants him.

While she waits for him to come back, her thoughts keep drifting back to that wretched dream.

_She just wanted them to come home. Someone, anyone. She never minded being home alone before. But then Sansa and Jeyne came home from hanging out in Winter town and saw her reading to herself and they couldn't have been more willing to ruin her peace. And self esteem._

_Arya looked up from her book to see both girls standing by the entry way of the living room, giggling and whispering between themselves while looking at Arya. She could hear the familiar words of 'horseface' and something about a 'lumpyhead' spoken between them. Arya resisted the urge to throw her book at Jeyne's head and her shoe at Sansa's face. She doesn't, however, resist the urge to roll her eyes at the immaturity of her sister and her friend and thought to herself how in seven hells was Sansa the older one._

_"Hello Arya." Jeyne drew out, her voice filled with disdain when she said her name._

_Arya's eyes connected with Jeyne's and already she could tell she wasn't going to like whatever was about to happen._

_"Jeyne."_

The door to her and Gendry's bedroom pushed forward snapping her out of reliving her dream. She looks up and sees Gendry walking forward with tea and biscuits towards the bed, _our bed_ she can't help smiling to herself. 

He sits next to her on the bed, "Here you go love." He offers her a gentle smile and she finds herself leaning up to place a sweet and gentle kiss on his lips. 

Gendry is quick to respond and lets his lips move softly over hers, before they both pull away and she takes the tea from him. _Thank the bloody seven I kissed her last night._

After taking a few generous sips and eating two biscuits, she sets them down on her night stand before taking the napkin Gendry was offering up to her to wipe her mouth. 

Arya readjusts herself in the bed making herself ready to lie back down, while waiting for Gendry to do the same so she can comfort herself in his embrace. 

As if reading her mind, Gendry lays down on his side and opens his arm in a welcoming gesture, a soft smiles delicately painting his features. She smiles back and lays her head on his chest. Gendry doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her small frame.

"Better?" 

She lets out a small laugh, "Very much, thank you." She looks up at him and he plants a kiss to her forehead. 

She finds that each kiss he gives her reawakens something in her. Something like home, whether it's a name, a place, a memory. Nothing strong enough to keep a strong hold on her mind, but still there all the same.

"Sorry if I woke you. I was just reliving a memory that had no business being in my dreams."

Gendry rubs up and down her arms,"Don't be sorry. I'm glad I'm here. What was the memory?" 

She lets out a sigh,"It was the start of my fight with Sansa and Jeyne. The one that made me ignore everybody for a month because I didn't think they wanted me." Arya isn't surprised by how sad her voice sounds at the memory. However, she is surprised when she feels Gendry stiffen beneath her upon hearing Jeyne's name.

Gendry clears his throat before speaking, "I remember when you told me about that."

Arya's face contorted in confusion,"That happened before we met though."

"Yeah, something else happened with Jeyne a year after you and I met. It lead to you telling me about that and everything else Jeyne had ever done to you." Gendry's voice became sad at the end, but the mention of Jeyne Poole was enough to have him scowling. He'd always hate her for trying to tear him and Arya apart. He'd hate her even more for how horrible she always made Arya feel, even if she kept a strong face on, he always knew she was hurting.

"What else happened? Sansa mentioned that she wasn't her friend anymore because something happened. I'm going to assume it's the same thing you're talking about." Arya was looking up at Gendry still. Gendry looks down at her. She thinks she might tell him about how she ran into Jeyne yesterday, but then he's speaking again.

"Yeah it is. I'm not so sure I should be telling you this alone. I mean, I'll tell you, but I just think it'd be best if Sansa was here with us too. I can invite her for dinner on Friday. It involved her as much as it involved me, you and Jeyne." 

"Did Sansa do anything?" She hated herself for even asking, but she needed to know. Gendry's gaze softened, sensing her guilt for asking.

"She helped us. She dropped Jeyne." 

She releases a breath and finds herself smiling, very happy with whatever it is Sansa did that she can't remember.

"Okay. We can wait for Sansa I suppose." She decides she'll tell the both of them about how she ran into Jeyne, and it had much more of an effect on her than she had realized, but for now she's tired and in the arms of who she's convinced is the most beautiful person on Earth, so she's not going to waste it,"Let's go back to sleep." Arya mumbles quietly, a yawn escaping at the end.

Gendry chuckles quietly before nodding in agreement and kissing her temple.

He chances a glance at the clock on the nightstand, which now reads 4:40 in the morning. He decides it's more than enough time to sleep if he has Arya in his arms.

* * *

Arya's grateful that when she went back to sleep last night, it was entirely dreamless, just her and the sounds of the breeze and early morning bike riders outside of her and Gendry's home. 

The following Thursday night however, her mind takes her somewhere she's never been. A memory she has but has never seen. She isn't sure she likes it very much.

_Arya is almost certain that what she's seeing in front of her isn't real. She must have conjured this up in the wildest depths of her imagination because why else would Gendry_ _be sitting with Jeyne Poole during their fifth period lunch? Why else would Gendry be so blatantly avoiding Arya's gaze while meeting Jeyne's? Why else would words be coming out of Gendry's mouth followed by laughter from Jeyne's?_

_Arya's never felt heat burn so fiercely in the pit of her stomach before, and she's certain its a feeling she never thought herself capable of feeling. That was before Gendry._

_She thinks she might walk over and ask Gendry what the hells is going on. She thinks she might finally kick Jeyne Poole's ass because she has taken it one degree too far this time. She thinks she might cry because her best friend is willingly spend time with the person she hates the most, the person who hates her the most._

_But here comes that blonde prick that's been trying to hold her hand since the 6th grade and get in her pants since the 9th._

_"Hey Arya! Mind if I sit with you during lunch today? I heard Gendry wanted to sit with Jeyne at lunch from Harry. He's in class with Jeyne who told him that Gendry wanted to have lunch with her, so I figured you might want a new lunch buddy." Ned says cheerily. Arya normally wouldn't believe a single word that Ned just said to her, knowing that Gendry knows exactly how she feels about Jeyne, but she glances over at them again and sees Gendry listening intently to whatever Jeyne Poole is saying to him, his expression unreadable. He's hiding his thoughts._

_"Gendry doesn't like Jeyne."_

_"Oh I don't know about that Arya. She sends him some pretty dreamy stares in all of their classes from what Harry's told me. Apparently he's been meaning to ask her to hang out with him for a while now. Says he wants to branch out, become friends with new people, said he needs a faster pace."_

_Arya snorted at that. Gendry hates branching out. As if he would talk to Jeyne Poole no less. She looks at Ned and decides few things._

_Ned Dayne isn't bad to look at. But his hair is too blonde and bright, nothing like the black mop of hair full of warmth she's grown accustomed to staring at. His eyes are pretty but they're way too indigo and have too many sparkles in them, they don't catch the light like the sun on the ocean the way Gendry's do, the way she's used to blue eyes doing._

_She might say no to Ned Dayne, who just made his hand very comfortable on her shoulder. But then Gendry finally looks over at her just as Jeyne grabs his arm and she doesn't bother hiding the daggers she's glaring his and Jeyne's way._

_She thinks she sees hurt in his eyes, but then its gone and now Gendry is glaring right back, almost identical to the first time they ever laid eyes on each other, only this time it hurts._

_So what if she wasn't enough for him. Nobody forced him to be her friend. He could have easily backed out as soon as she grabbed his schedule, but he didn't. She didn't need that, if Jeyne Poole was who he wanted to be friends with than he's just as lousy as every other guy in this school._

_Before she talks herself out of it,"Sure Ned. I'd love it if you sat with me today."_

_She's almost certain Gendry hears her because his eyes widen in shock._

_Ned, all too happily, settles his things at Arya's table and all Arya can manage to think is 'what the fuck.'_

Arya wakes up that morning, playing that dream over and over again in her minds eye. Ned Dayne she remembers, the pipsqueak had been in love with her in fifth grade when she traded her chocolate pudding cup for his cherry jello.

Ned Dayne and Jeyne Poole aren't what unsettles Arya about this memory though. No. It's Gendry. Gendry with his hard stare and scowl directed firmly at her. Gendry, spending time with Jeyne Poole despite knowing how she felt about her. Gendry, who she knows loves her more than anything.

What in seven fresh hells does this all mean?

She decides not to think too hard on it and thinks she'll bring it up at dinner tonight. She has a full day with family to look forward to.

* * *

That same day goes by in a flash. First, he's at the shop making sure business is running accordingly, while she's in downtown King's Landing with Jon and Ygritte, who were showing her where she interned at a startup company for photography and graphic design.

Then, he's off to the supermarket to pick up everything he'll need for tonight's dinner with Arya and Sansa, while Rickon reintroduces Arya to Shireen, his cousin/adoptive sister and Rickon's classmate who he may or may not be in love with. Arya has no trouble seeing why Rickon is so smitten with Shireen and she immediately decides right off the bat that she loves Shireen with her soft spoken words, kind eyes and sweet like candy laugh. 

Finally, Gendry goes home to start making dinner while Sansa picks Arya up from the 'Red Keep Cafe' where she was chatting with Rickon and Shireen, and the pair of them make their way to Arya and Gendry's flat.

The drive back to the flat is comfortable, with Sansa behind the wheel and Arya taking in her surroundings, still not quite believing she lives in King's Landing or that she's engaged and very much the fact that she remembers none of it.

Sansa peers over at Arya from her right side before she breaks the comfortable silence.

"Not that I'm complaining, because I do love spending time with you and Gendry, but why'd you guys invite me over for dinner tonight?"

Arya takes a moment to observe Sansa before she responds,"What happened between you and Jeyne that made you drop her once and for all?"

They reach a stop light when Sansa turns to stare at Arya, her face masked with a cool expression before she feels it slowly chipping away. Sansa still can't quite believe that Arya doesn't remember what happened. Something as awful as what Jeyne did was something Sansa couldn't even forget, no matter how hard she tried, making Gendry believe that Arya would never want to be friends with him, that he was some bet that she, Ned and Arya were in on and making Arya believe that Gendry didn't want to spend his time with Arya when he could be hanging out with Jeyne. She preyed on Gendry and Arya's deepest insecurities of themselves and used them to pit the two best friends against one another and all for her own personal gain. She'd never forgive Jeyne for putting her sister and future brother in law through that.

"You really don't remember, huh?" Sansa looked at Arya, astonished that she didn't remember how badly Jeyne hurt her, how badly it even hurt Sansa for Arya's sake.

Arya shook her head,"Not a clue." 

Sansa lets out a sigh but before she has the chance to respond, Arya's speaking again,"That's why Gendry and I are having you over. I had a dream last night. It was the beginning of our last fight-" Sansa visibly winced at the mention of it, but nodded her head,"It was really bad but Gendry helped me." Sansa smiles and makes the turn that leaves them 5 minutes away from the flat.

"I asked Gendry what happened and he wanted you to be there so you guys could tell me together."

Sansa nods in understanding, while pulling up to the curb of Arya and Gendry's flat,"Makes sense.". She puts the car in park and both girls head to the building. Sansa pretends not to see Arya's little victory dance after she opens the door after a 3rd attempt and Arya pretends not to notice Sansa's smile.

* * *

While Gendry waited for Arya to come home with Sansa, his mind couldn't help but wonder towards the short period of time when he and Arya were at odds.

_Gendry couldn't wait for fifth hour lunch. Joffrey had made a complete and utter fool of himself in his AP Westerosi Literature class and he couldn't wait to tell Arya all about it. His senior year, he and Arya only had 3 periods together, one of them being lunch, but he wasn't complaining. 3 classes was better than none. People still tended to stay out of his way, but ever since he and Arya became close, he found himself smiling more openly. People would smile at him. He found it wasn't something he was very opposed to. Arya still referred to him as his edgy highness, but he found he didn't mind it coming from her. She was his best friend._

_He makes his way into the cafeteria and is about to walk over to his and Arya's table, before Jeyne Poole is standing right in front of him._

_"Hey Gendry." Gendry isn't entirely too sure why Jeyne Poole is talking to him, she'd never said so much as 5 words to him, only ever opting for batting her eyelashes at him. He's not so sure he wants her talking to him. Not from everything Arya has told him about her._

_It took her a while to warm up to telling him how Jeyne Poole bullied her relentlessly with the help of her sister, but it all ended once high school started and she and Sansa talked things out._

_"Hey Jeyne. I gotta go. Meeting Arya for lunch." He's about to walk forward but Jeyne puts a hand to his chest when he sees Arya walk in from the other end of the cafeteria, completely unaware of her surroundings._

" _Oh, didn't you hear? Arya's having lunch with Ned Dayne today." Jeyne says smugly._

_Gendry scoffed. As if Arya would ever have lunch with Ned Dayne. Just two days ago she was going on and on about how Ned would struggle pouring water out of a boot with the instructions on the heel._

_"Yeah right. Why on earth would Arya do that?" He catches Arya's eyes and he's not surprised to see the annoyance on her face. He's not really looking for an answer to his question, but Jeyne gives him one anyway._

_"He owes her for the bet. She totally won." Jeyne laughs._

_"What bet?" Gendry's interest are suddenly peaked. He knows he shouldn't feed into it, but there has never been something going on with Arya that she hasn't told him about. He ditched school and bought her a box of pads when she got her period in the middle of AP physics last year for crying out loud._

_Jeyne's eyes are swirling with something dangerously sinister in them,"I'm surprised the little Stark hadn't told you about the bet, especially since its all about you."_

_Gendry feels his heart start beating rapidly. She's lying. She has to be._

_"No. You're lying."_

_"I'm not. Her, Ned and Sansa bet on how long she could make you think she actually wanted to be friends with someone of your background." Gendry felt like he was punched in his gut._

_"What?"_

_"Yeah, Ned bet that she would only last a few weeks, said she wouldn't want to tarnish the Stark name by being friends with a nobody for so long. Sansa bet a few months, said Arya likes a bit of a challenge. And Arya, oof. Arya said if it meant winning, she'd pretend to like you for however long she needed to."_

_Gendry looks over at Arya and sees Ned Dayne standing by her, smiling and chattering her ear off, resting a hand on her shoulder while her gaze is focused on Gendry._

_Oh gods it's true. It's absolutely true. Why on earth would Arya Stark be friends with somebody who needs to defer a year to save up for college, why would she be friends with somebody whose biological father wanted nothing to do with him? He lets his mask slip for a second and he shows her how hurt he is. Jeyne grabs his forearm and Arya is glaring at the both of them. He glares right back._

_He sees Jeyne smirking from the corner of his eye, why, he has no clue. He's about to tell her he'll join her for lunch, when Arya accepts the same offer from Ned Dayne a few feet away from them. He doesn't bother hiding how shocked he is. Jeyne was right. Arya and Ned were scheming together. Had he really only been the butt of a joke to her for a full year?_

_He can't bear this and storms out of the cafeteria. His eyes are burning. How stupid of him to think someone might actually care about him, someone might actually see past all the things he hates most about himself._

_Stupid, stupid bull._

Gendry is pulled from his thoughts from the ding of the oven. He pulls out the chicken roast he'd made for dinner tonight and sets it on the table. 

Gendry couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for all that time wasted between him and Arya where they were mad at one another and all for the amusement of Jeyne Poole. She really did enjoy ruining Arya's life. He should've known better than to ever trust a single word that ever came for her mouth, but the worst of the situation made them closer than ever and solidified their friendship into one that would last forever.

They knew if they could over come that, they could over come anything as long as they were together and on the same team.

He hears the door open and hears Arya say "yes!" under her breath. He smiles to himself. She really was the cutest wasn't she?

"Gendry, I'm home."He hears her call.

"Me too, buddy." Sansa says in a funny voice making Arya snort with laughter.

He walks into the living room, greeting Arya with a peck on the lips and Sansa with a hug, before she's being pushed by Nymeria to pet her.

"Dinner's ready." Both girls nod and head to the table where they all get settled.

They each serve themselves dinner and spend the time eating and chatting, easing the conversation into comfortable territory and laughing about Theon getting stuck in the space between the fridge and the counter top in Sansa's place. After they all finish, they all move to the living room, Sansa and Arya on the couch and Gendry on the arm chair across from Arya. Neither Arya nor Gendry really knows what to say, or how to start.

But Sansa does.

"Alright," she claps her hands together,"Shall we begin?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly finished with the re-upload!! :)
> 
> Be kind. Be good people.

**Author's Note:**

> since i have all the chapters finished, this should be completely uploaded within the next few days!! 
> 
> sorry for deleting it and thank you for reading!!


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